Mark Stücklin
Paris rent controls are under legal threat, but in Barcelona the same failing policy rolls on unchecked despite growing signs it’s doing more harm than good.
Rent controls in Paris may be living on borrowed time. This week, the Paris Administrative Court was due to rule on whether the city’s rent cap system is legally valid—a decision that could dismantle one of Europe’s highest-profile interventions in the rental market. As landlords push back and the policy’s unintended consequences mount, France’s capital could soon be forced into a major housing policy rethink.
Meanwhile, in Barcelona, where a similar rent control regime is already showing signs of strain, there’s no legal challenge on the horizon—just more political resolve to press ahead, however unconvincing the results.
Court ruling could kill off rent caps in Paris
The case in Paris was brought by a coalition of property owners and landlords arguing that the city acted beyond its legal powers when it reintroduced rent controls in 2019. The policy, originally launched as a pilot scheme, limits rental prices according to property size, type, and location. It was supposed to make the city more affordable, especially for low-income residents pushed out by rising prices and so-called gentrification.
But five years on, the results are far from conclusive. Critics say the policy has reduced the number of properties available on the official rental market, driven up under-the-table payments, and created a two-tier system in which well-connected, higher-income tenants are the main beneficiaries. At the same time, landlords have become more reluctant to invest or even list properties for rent, reducing supply and adding to the pressures renters face.
If the court agrees that Paris exceeded its remit, rent controls could be overturned in one swift stroke, setting a precedent that could reverberate across France—and beyond.
Barcelona shows what happens when no one says no
Across the Pyrenees, Barcelona offers a cautionary tale of what happens when rent controls are introduced without legal or political checks. In Catalonia, left-wing parties in favour of rent caps hold a strong majority in both the regional parliament and Barcelona City Hall. That means there’s little risk of the policy being reversed any time soon—regardless of the consequences.
And the consequences are becoming harder to ignore. Official rent prices might be flat or slightly falling, but asking prices—the ones advertised online—are soaring. That suggests the black market is growing, with landlords looking to recover losses off the books.
Worse still, the number of official rental contracts being registered is declining sharply (see chart below). That’s a telltale sign of a system that’s no longer functioning properly. A lucky few—often the most affluent and best connected—get the benefit of capped prices. Everyone else struggles to find a place to live, shut out by a shrinking pool of officially listed properties and rising competition. There’s more information on Barcelona rent cap results in this article: Rent caps stabilise prices but stall the market in Catalonia
Paris at a crossroads, Barcelona on autopilot
The Paris court decision could mark the beginning of the end for rent controls in the French capital. If that happens, it will be an important moment in the wider European debate about how best to manage housing affordability without wrecking the market in the process.
Barcelona, by contrast, is a city on autopilot—powering ahead with a failing policy, politically untouchable and increasingly detached from economic reality. Paris might have a chance to course-correct. Barcelona, it seems, will have to learn the hard way.
