In a landmark legal decision, the administrative court in the popular French seaside city of Marseille upheld the city’s tough new regulations on short-term rentals, rejecting an appeal brought by the Union of Furnished Rental Professionals (Syndicat des Professionnels de la Location Meublée- SPLM) on June 2.

The court rejected the legal challenge brought by the local union which had opposed a new regulation introduced earlier this year by local Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolitan Council, Le Figaro reported. The new ruling allows the city to continue enforcing the policy which came into force in February 2025, which requires property owners who wish to offer short-term rentals to also make available an equivalent property for long-term rental in the same area.

The rule states that if you want to convert a property into a short-term rental like Airbnb, you must also put another property of the same size, in the same neighbourhood on the long-term rental market, so that you're not taking housing away from local residents and 'compensating' by adding a similar property back into the long-term rental market. The court found that the measure 'forms part of a broader housing policy in a market under pressure' and does not constitute a serious or immediate threat to the interests represented by the union.

The decision is part of a wider effort by the local mayor to regulate short-term holiday rentals in Marseille, which he says have contributed to rising housing costs and reduced availability for local residents.

In a statement released on June 3, SPLM said: "We reiterate that the proposed regulation of furnished tourist accommodation will do nothing to resolve the housing crisis in Marseille. The properties concerned represent less than 2% of the housing stock. It is the structural causes - long-term vacancy, insalubrity and low production of new housing - that must be addressed as a priority.

"The legal battle continues: an appeal on the merits has been lodged, and we remain determined to defend balanced, proportionate regulation."

The group claimed that Marseille’s short-term rental regulations are disproportionate, ineffective, and were imposed without proper consultation of local businesses.

According to the real estate platform, Lycaon, about 220 of Marseille’s 1,500 Airbnb-style listings have recently been put up for sale, TF1 reported.

Marseille’s regulatory measures reflect a wider trend seen in several European cities, including Paris, Nice, and Barcelona, where local authorities are implementing stricter controls on short-term rentals. These efforts aim to maintain housing affordability and manage the impact of tourism on residential areas.

In early 2025, Marseille reduced the maximum number of nights a primary residence can be rented to tourists from 120 to 90 nights per year and prohibited the installation of lockboxes and key safes on public property, which are often used by hosts to provide guest access.

These measures are intended to limit the conversion of housing stock into short-term rentals and to address pressures on the long-term rental market.

Marseille is currently struggling with housing availability, including a shortage of affordable housing, building degradation, and an extensive waiting list for social housing, factors that have been linked to the growth of short-term rentals reducing long-term housing options.