The listing remains active on Airbnb; however, the owner of this apartment situated in a villa in the center of Biarritz, a beach town in the southwest, has indicated that due to regulatory changes, they will no longer offer their property for nightly rentals to tourists, opting instead for a ‘mobility lease’ which mandates a minimum stay of one month for individuals traveling for professional training or work relocations.
Maria, a pseudonym for the concierge service operator managing key exchanges and cleaning for this furnished rental, has already begun to notice the impact of the newly implemented regulations in the region. ‘I used to manage 12 seasonal rentals, but now I only have four,’ she remarked.
In response to a surge in secondary homes and Airbnb-style rentals that have driven up real estate prices, the Basque Country in France has enacted stringent regulations aimed at ensuring housing availability for local residents. As of March 1, 2023, landlords in designated ‘tense’ areas, which include 24 municipalities like Biarritz, are required to secure a ‘change of use’ permit and comply with compensation requirements.
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