The city of Paris on Monday threatened to take Airbnb to court if it does not delist hundreds of apartments whose owners have failed to register with the French capital's authorities.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo's deputy in charge of housing, Ian Brossat, told AFP the city had written to five holiday rental sites -- Airbnb, HomeAway, Paris Attitude, Sejourning and Windu -- to demand they remove properties whose owners have defied the city's new registration requirements.

If they do not comply the city will take legal action, he added.

Paris -- the world's third-most visited city, according to a Mastercard ranking -- is one of Airbnb's top markets, with some 65,000 homes listed. 

Another 35,000 are available on rival platforms.

Faced with complaints that holiday rentals are increasing property speculation and pricing hoteliers out of the market, the city has slapped restrictions on short-term rentals of apartments and rooms.