The law n°2004-809 passed on 13th August  2004 on local liberties and responsibilities planned the setting up of a Housing and Living Conditions Observatory within the framework of local housing programmes -PLH- and  the Government Delegation of the  Departmental responsible for attributing Housing Aid.

The  Paris Housing Observatory, planned by the -PLH-  was adopted by the Paris City Council in October 2004. Its creation was confirmed by the Skills Delegation Agreement approved by the Paris Council 7th February 2005 and signed on 20th April 2005

Following a preparatory study carried out in 2004, the task of setting up the Observatory was given to the Apur in 2005. At a Paris City Council board meeting on 24th May 2006 participants of the Steering Committee were decided at the City of Paris Board meeting -DLH-2006-04G- .

Missions
The  Observatory serves to enlighten the public authorities so they are better able to respond to Parisians housing needs.

• To centralise data relative to housing and living conditions:
• Follow through actions carried out within the framework of -PLH-
• Be a base from which knowledge of housing in Paris is diffused (carry out studies)
• To be a framework within which exchanges between those active in the field of housing and living conditions can take place.

Functioning
The Observatory is a partnership structure headed by the Department of Housing and Living Conditions of the City of Paris. It associates the Regional Prefecture, Paris Police Headquarters - Préfecture de Paris- , Ile de France Regional Council, the AORIF, the Regional Federation of the SEM,  the CNL, UNPL, ADIL 75, URIOPSS, The APUR, the OLAP,  the elected board of the notary profession , the FROILIF (1%), the CDC and AURIF. The CRETEIL,  multidisciplinary research Laboratory of the Paris Institute of Urbanism (University Paris XII), performs the mission as a permanent scientific consultancy

The Observatory is organised around two bodies :

• The Steering Committee presided over by the Deputy Mayor of Paris responsible for Housing, which fixes the Observatory's annual programme of studies
• The Technical Committee, responsible  for leading activities under the supervision of the Steering Committee, carry out studies and develop a database on housing and living conditions.

It includes three progress monitoring tools :

• Observatory of lead poisoning, insanitary conditions and run-down housing (which ceased to be active in 2011)
• Observatory of hotels offering social accommodation
• Observatory for the prevention of run-down housing

• Access to social housing in Paris in 2009, November 2010
• Survey of residential housing sold in Paris by property developers between 2006 and 2009, August 2010
• Apartment buildings in Paris acquired under social housing regulations between 2001 and 2008, Note de 4/8 pages n°34, May 2010
• Social housing statistics in Paris at the beginning of 2010, Note de 4/8 pages n°41, May 2010
• Tool for Preventing the Degradation of Old Parisian Buildings – 2010 Report, May 2010
• The Observatory's Database of Housing in Paris – July 2009, CD-ROM, September 2009
• Access to Social Housing in Paris – Analysis of the Demand for Social Housing and Assessment of Allocation of Social Housing in Paris in 2008, September 2009
• Towards a Tool for the Prevention of Degradation of Old Buildings in Paris. Preparatory study: Setting up Warning Signals, January 2009
• The State of Occupation ,in 2009, Buildings Acquired Between 2001 and 2008, July 2009
• Social Housing Figures in Paris at the Beginning of 2009. -Note de 4 pages- April 2009
• Acquisition of Social Housing in Paris by 31 December 2008, March 2009
• Access to Social Housing in Paris – Analysis of the Demand for Social Housing and Assessing Social Housing Allocation in Paris in 2007, July 2008
• The Paris Housing Observatory Database – July 2008, CD-ROM, September 2008
• The Development of Social Housing Geographical Zones -en diffu-, Ways and Means, first analysis, November 2007
• Enumerate and Locate Buildings of the -Parc Social de Fait- in Paris, November 2007
• How to Produce Accessible Housing in the Centre of the Metropolitan Conglomeration? Leverage Actions on the Price of Land and Real Estate.
• Paris Cartography of Social Housing on 1st January 2006, November 2007
• First Assessment of Rehousing within the Framework of Urban Renewal Operations in Paris, September 2007
• Home Acquisition in Paris and the Housing Policy of Banks – The Role of Banks in the Evolution of the Structure of the Population and Acquisitions, September 2007
• Housing, an Ambition for  the Metropolitan Conference, July 2007
• Access to Social Housing in Paris – Analysis of the Demand for Social Housing  and Assessment of Allocation of Social Housing in Paris in 2006, June 2007
• Reduction of Run Down Housing in Paris- 2002-2007, June 2007
• Furnished Hotel Accommodation in Paris – Diagnosis and First Assessment of Plan of Action in Progress, June 2007
• 20% of Social Housing on the Horizon 2020 – Means and Outlook, February 2007
• Social Housing Figures in Paris in 2006, -Note de 4 pages-, February 2007
• 2006 Paris Housing Observatory Database, CD-ROM, November 2006
• Analysis of Parisian -Parc Social de Fait- in 2003 : a Territorial Analysis of the Profile of Occupants of -Parcs- and Districts, November 2006
• The Middle Classes and Housing in Paris, November 2006
• The Paris Housing Observatory Database, June 2006
• Access to Social Housing in Paris – Analysis of the Demand of Social Housing and Assessment of Propositions and Attribution of Social Housing  in Paris in 2005, June 2006
• Observation Bulletin of Parisian Housing, N°1, March 2006
• The Paris Housing Observatory Database, July 2005
• Access to Social Housing in Paris – Analysis of Demand for Social Housing and Assessment of Activity in 2004  by the Designation Commission set up by the Mayor of Paris, June 2005
• Towards the Setting up of a Housing Observatory in Paris, November 2004