A picturesque town in the south of France has seen its population drop by almost 40% because of a rise in short term holiday lets.
Nestled between Nice and Monaco on the French Riviera, Villefranche-sur-Mer boasts charming streets, beautiful beaches and stunning views across the Mediterranean Sea.
But an influx of tourists drawn to the town’s charms has resulted in a surge in second homes, which now overtake the number of main residences.
A study carried out by the company Touriz, cited in the French newspaper nice-matin, shows Villefranche-sur-Mer has 2,200 main homes compared to 3,200 thirty years ago. The number of second homes is higher, at 2,600.
Mayor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, Christophe Trojani, told the same publication the town has lost 3,000 locals in 30 years.
He added: “There are only 5,000 Villefranchois left compared to 8,000 in 1990. We cannot do nothing [about that]. Our young people can no longer find accommodation because we no longer have long-term rental accommodation.”
Mr Trojani said there are about 300 empty properties the local authority wants back on the market and is willing to take steps to encourage owners to do so.
The mayor said thre are now 600 furnished properties for tourists on travel accommodation platforms, representing 12% of the town’s housing stock.
A search of AirBnB carried out by the Express on Saturday (December 7) showed 78 properties available for rent in the first full week of January.
Prices ranged from £52 per night for a flat up to £374 per night for an apartment with a balcony and two double beds, netting the host £2,241 in total.
Mr Trojani said such business can be “very profitable”, adding that furnished tourist accommodation brings in an average of 70,000 euros (£58,000) per year.
In a bid to turn the tide, the local municipality has limited to one the number of furnished properties one person or company can offer as tourist accommodation.
There is also a six year limit to that offer, beyond which owners will have no choice but to either sell their property or offer it for long-term rent.
Through such measures, Villefranche-sur-Mer’s mayor hopes to halve the number of short-term rentals, with the success of the relatively new regulation taking at least three years to measure.
Mr Trojani hopes the rule will also engineer a drop in property prices and so allow more people to get a foot on the housing ladder.