Paris May Ban Key Boxes in Battle Against Short-Term Stays
The little key safes used by the landlords of vacation apartments are a form of pollution, say critics.
Paris looks to join a group of French cities that have banned placing key boxes in public in a bid to curb short-term lets favored by tourists.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Key boxes are the latest flashpoint in France’s fight against unlicensed vacation apartments including Airbnb Inc.
Next month, the Council of Paris will vote on a proposal to ban the placement of these boxes in Paris’s public spaces. Key boxes are used by short-stay landlords so that they can get keys to tenants without meeting in person. While they will still be allowed on private property, landlords of apartments will only be able to install the boxes in shared buildings with other tenants’ consent. The rulealready exists but would be fully enforced for the first time.