Municipal Elections 2026 in Paris: What Are the Candidates’ Housing Proposals and Where Do They Stand?

Housing is a key issue in the 2026 Paris municipal elections (March 15 and 22). Access to affordable housing, social housing, rent prices, and urban planning are at the center of candidates’ manifestos. Here’s a look at their proposals.

This spring, Parisians will once again head to the polls for the upcoming municipal elections, scheduled for March 15 and 22, 2026. This election will be notable for a significant change in voting procedures in the capital. Thanks to the law passed on August 11, 2025, voters will now be required to cast two separate ballots on the same day, choosing their representatives both for the district council and the Paris Council.

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This procedural change, however, does not directly affect the course of the electoral campaign. As in previous elections, each candidate outlines their program and priorities, centered around issues that resonate broadly with voters. These include areas such as education, security, healthcare, but also housing. In Paris, this topic holds a key role in municipal debates, reflecting its impact on residents’ daily lives. Topics like fluctuations in real estate prices, rent controls, availability of social housing, renovation of energy-inefficient buildings, or the regulation of seasonal tourist rentals are all factors that influence voters’ choices at the ballot box.

This focus on housing is driven by the significant role municipalities play in this area, even though they are not acting alone. They shape the development of their territories by deciding where and how construction can take place, balancing the need for new homes with the preservation of urban harmony. They support the creation of new housing, including social housing, collaborate with landlords, and ensure compliance with legal obligations. Municipalities also play a key role in distributing certain social housing units and assisting residents in difficulty. They are on the front lines in the fight against substandard housing conditions, regulating practices such as short-term rentals, and helping residents renovate their homes.

In this context, if housing is one of your top concerns, Sortiraparis offers you a summary of the proposals from candidates running for Paris mayor on this issue. Our goal is to present the various measures as objectively as possible, so you have all the necessary information to form your own opinion when it comes time to vote.

Housing Policies Proposed for the 2026 Paris Municipal Elections:

(regular updates based on program announcements and candidate declarations)

Pierre-Yves Bournazel (Horizons – Backed by Renaissance)

Rebuild 60,000 housing units on the market through incentives for property owners (source: Le Parisien).
Construct 15,000 social and intermediate housing units annually (source: Le Parisien).
Cap tourist rentals at a maximum of 30 nights per year for furnished holiday apartments (source: Boursorama).
Offer a "100% guaranteed package" to reassure private landlords, covering rent and deposits to encourage the release of vacant or unoccupied properties (source: Batiweb).
Create three new university districts by 2030, providing around 7,000 student accommodations (source: Batiweb).
Quadruple renovation rates in social housing to bring the stock up to standard within 10 years (comprehensive renovation plan) (source: Batiweb).
Merge Paris’s three main social housing organizations to achieve savings estimated at around €540 million (source: Le Parisien).
Limit large-scale expropriations in the private sector (except in cases of unsafe housing), focusing public resources on renovation rather than systematic acquisition (source: Club Grand Paris).
Reserve the majority of social housing for categories deemed "essential" (teachers, healthcare workers, police, shopkeepers) (source: Club Grand Paris).
Prioritize access to social housing for working individuals (source: Official candidate site).
Increase turnover in social housing through moving bonuses (source: Official candidate site).
Fund the renovation of 90,000 energy-inefficient homes in the private sector (source: Official candidate site).
Test an energy autonomy plan for private condominiums (source: Official candidate site).
Introduce a Parisian student lease to assist young people in finding accommodation (source: Official candidate site).
Externalize and support rental management via partners to speed up leasing within the "100% guaranteed package" (source: Official candidate site).
Redeploy staff involved in expropriations to support property owners—helping with rentals and procedures—within the framework of the "trust pact" (source: Official candidate site).
Enhance Airbnb rental controls using AI tools and web scraping to enforce regulations (source: Official candidate site).
Establish a balanced governance structure for merged social housing providers, including 50% tenant representatives on the board (source: Official candidate site).
Publish annual transparency reports from housing providers, including vacancy rates and response times, and create a platform for tenants to report issues anonymously (source: Official candidate site).
Cap social housing at 25% of all city housing stock (official target on the housing page of the website) (source: Official candidate site).
Implement an annual audit of allocation processes, including declarations of conflicts of interest for politically exposed persons, along with targeted inspections by the Paris City Inspectorate (source: Official candidate site).
Introduce short-term leases, pending legislative changes (source: Official candidate site).
Automatically apply additional charges for income thresholds exceeded, with annual reviews and controls—related to social housing rotation procedures (source: Official candidate site).
Partially finance social housing upgrades by increasing property sales—targeting 1,000 additional annual sales with proceeds allocated to renovation, as well as to intermediate housing projects and conversions of offices into homes (source: Official candidate site).
Introduce a municipal tax credit, equivalent to a 50% reduction in property tax, payable as a lump sum to incentivize renovation and rental of F/G-rated homes (source: Official candidate site).

Blandine Chauvel (NPA)

Note that these proposals are general and not exclusive to the campaign in Paris; the NPA mainly outlines a guiding framework applicable to all candidates across France.

Viewing the housing crisis as a consequence of the capitalist-driven functioning of the real estate market, where housing is treated primarily as a profit-generating commodity.
Highlighting the relentless rise in property prices and rents, which imposes an overwhelming burden on workers, the precarious, and students.
Banning speculative real estate practices as a fundamental cause of the housing crisis.
Emphasizing the lack of social and affordable housing construction, along with the decline in new developments within the sector.
Pointing out that many vacant homes remain empty despite clear needs, thus deepening the crisis.
Implying (based on the arguments about vacant properties) the need to requisition vacant homes, unused offices, and second homes to make them available to those in need.
Stressing the importance of providing decent housing for all, including homeless individuals, and fighting against evictions and substandard living conditions.
Asserting that the crisis disproportionately impacts the working class, youth, and precarious workers, who are often forced to live far from city centers or in degraded conditions.

(Sources: official website)

Sophia Chikirou (La France Insoumise / New Paris for the People)

The candidate advocates for a rapid expansion of housing in Paris by intervening in the private market—addressing vacant properties and illegal tourist rentals—while strictly tightening rent controls (Source: official candidate website).
Proposals include creating a "Right to Housing" brigade, converting a significant portion of tourist accommodations into regular housing, imposing a moratorium on new furnished rentals, and boosting the use of pre-emption rights to develop social housing and secure long-term leases (Source: official candidate website).
The plan also features establishing a public management agency for rentals, increasing support for the most vulnerable tenants, freezing social housing rents at the start of the term, and launching a comprehensive energy renovation plan tied to affordable rents and the use of eco-friendly, bio-based materials (Source: official candidate website).
Aiming to combat discrimination in housing access, the initiative calls for regular testing campaigns with published results, creating a dedicated anti-discrimination unit linked to the "Right to Housing" brigade, conditioning municipal benefits on equality compliance, and launching a "Paris Equality in Housing" label to highlight committed stakeholders (Source: official candidate website).
Declaring a "housing emergency" to prioritize urgent intervention (Source: CNEWS).
Increasing municipal inspectors threefold to crack down on substandard housing and illegal rentals (Source: official candidate website).
Implementing systematic, personalized monitoring of vacant properties, including direct contact with owners to offer solutions such as rental or partnerships (Source: official candidate website).
Introducing a direct municipal housing assistance program, stackable with housing benefits (APL), targeted at the most vulnerable households (Source: official candidate website).
Expanding "Solidarity Real Leases" (BRS) to separate land and building ownership, easing social homeownership access (Source: official candidate website).
Linking public municipal aid to strict social and environmental criteria in housing projects (Source: official candidate website).
Enhancing legal tools for the city to combat poor quality housing, including faster procedures for enforcement (Source: official candidate website).

To learn more about all the measures, specific goals, and the implementation timetable, visit the full program.

Rachida Dati (The Republicans/Modem/UDI)

Prioritizing families and workers (including healthcare professionals) for access to social and intermediate housing (source: official candidate website and Instagram).
Improving housing access for those working in Paris (source: official candidate website).
Committing €100 million annually to renovate and secure social housing stock (source: candidate's Instagram account).
Ending the practice of preempting properties as a municipal tool (source: Immoweek).
Questioning the expansion of social housing percentages within the city (source: Immoweek).
Energy-efficient renovations of social housing: renovating 10,000 units per year (source: CNEWS).

Emmanuel Grégoire (Center-Left Alliance: Socialist Party, Communist Party, Environmentalists, Place Publique, L’Après)

Prohibit permanent short-term rentals to free up housing (source: Le Parisien).
Make housing more affordable and accessible, aiming for up to 60,000 social and intermediate rental units (source: official candidate website and France24).
Mobilize vacant housing stock. (source: official candidate website)
Undertake a large-scale renovation of private housing (35,000 social housing units) and support renovations of 200,000 private homes. (source: official candidate website)
Dismantle or transform unused office spaces into residential units. (source: Le Monde)
Add additional floors to existing buildings to create new housing. (source: Le Monde)
Strengthen measures to requisition vacant homes as an active municipal policy. (source: Ouest France)
Implement an "inter-landlord team" to handle repairs more efficiently. (source: France24)
Actively requisition homes vacant for over five years. (source: official candidate site)
Fight discrimination in housing access. (source: official candidate site)
Create a HousingProtection Brigade to enforce rent controls across the city. (source: official candidate site)
"Zero homeless children" plan with 4,000 emergency shelter spots. (source: CNEWS)
Accessible municipal home insurance, including coverage against bedbugs. (source: official candidate site)
Create a Municipal Rent Guarantee extending the Visale scheme. (source: official candidate site)
Support efforts to make existing residential buildings accessible for all. (source: official candidate site)

Sarah Knafo (Reconquête)

Elimination of rent controls in Paris.
Halting the city's ongoing real estate preemption policies.
Implementing a moratorium on new social housing developments for the duration of the current term.
Launching a homeownership plan aimed at middle-income families.
Annually selling around 4,000 social housing units, prioritizing existing tenants.
Waiving transfer taxes (notary fees) for social housing tenants who purchase their home.
Reducing transfer taxes by 10% for property transactions.
Introducing a digital platform for social housing allocations, based on transparent criteria and a points system.
Promoting turnover within the social housing stock through:
- Encouraging home purchases,
- Voluntary relocations,
- Applying a solidarity surcharge when tenants’ incomes exceed certain thresholds.
Systematic eviction of social housing tenants involved in serious disturbances, repeated non-payments, or drug trafficking, within the bounds of the law.
Prioritizing certain professionals (such as childcare workers, police officers, firefighters, and hospital staff) in social housing access.
Transforming a municipal building into an "Excellence Student Residence" (« Villa des talents »).
Abolishing the bioclimatic Local Urban Plan (PLU-b) and ending the "pasting" approach.
Shortening the approval process for building permits.
Halving property taxes.
Refunding overpaid property taxes to homeowners.
Cutting the waste collection and street cleaning taxes in half, which are directly related to housing costs.
Reducing Paris’ local taxes, supported by a municipal savings plan estimated at nearly 10 billion euros (Le Parisien).

(Source: Official Candidate Site)

Thierry Mariani (National Rally - UDR)

Cut property taxes through a major program of savings and debt reduction (source: official candidate website).
Create secure housing for victims of domestic violence and ensure access to municipal legal support (source: official candidate website).
Prioritize access to social housing for local residents and support families and workers (source: official candidate website).
Encourage intergenerational housing initiatives to combat loneliness and foster connections between students and seniors (source: official candidate website).
Redesign urban planning to balance housing, mobility, and the preservation of Parisians' quality of life (source: official candidate website).

Marielle Saulnier (Lutte Ouvrière)

No concrete proposals or measures specifically related to housing have been published on the candidate's official website as of February 26, 2026.

It's now up to you to sift through these proposals.

To help clarify the issues that matter most to you regarding the management of Paris, we've prepared a thematic overview. You can find all of these topics listed below!

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