France: renting a home, the tenant’s checklist

Preparing

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Work out the budget: rent, service charges, insurance, deposit and agency fees.
The deposit is 1 month’s rent excluding charges at most for an unfurnished home, 2 months for a furnished one.
Choose the type of lease: unfurnished, furnished or mobility lease.
The term, the deposit, the notice and the rent revision change from one type to another.
Check whether the municipality is in a high-demand zone and whether the rent is capped there.
In some large municipalities (Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Montpellier…), the rent is capped by reference rents.

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Gather the permitted supporting documents: identity, address, employment status, income.
The landlord cannot ask for any others: fine of up to €3,000 (€15,000 for a company).
If the landlord wishes, upload your documents to DossierFacile.
It is a State online service where the tenant uploads the permitted documents and sends them to the landlord.
If a guarantor stands surety, prepare their documents: the list is not the same as yours.
Do not pay any sum to reserve the home before the lease is signed.
The landlord and the agency have no right to ask for one.

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Read the whole lease: term, rent, charges, deposit, revision clause.
Check the deposit: 1 month’s rent excluding charges at most for an unfurnished home.
It cannot be raised during the lease or at renewal.
If an agency is involved, check the share of fees it asks of you.
For the file, the viewing and the lease: half at most and a cap per m² (€12.10, €10.09 or €8.07 in 2026 depending on the zone).
Find the annual revision clause and the reference IRL.
Without a revision clause, the rent cannot be revised. The IRL is the one for the quarter stated in the lease.
Sign the lease, keep a copy and note the start date.

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Do the move-in inspection with the landlord, room by room, when the keys are handed over.
It describes the home and its equipment, with the meter readings; it is written and given to both parties.
Note the defects and the meters not connected, with photos.
The tenant can add details and reservations to the inspection report.
With an agent, pay only a share of the fees: half at most and €3.03 per m² in 2026.
Done alone with the landlord, the inspection costs nothing.
Take out home insurance and hand over the certificate when the keys are handed over.
It must cover at least the tenant’s risks (fire, explosion, water damage), then the certificate must be provided every year if the landlord asks.

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Keep the rent receipts and proofs of payment.
Keep the statements of charges: they are paid by advances with an annual adjustment.
For an unfurnished home; a furnished one can also have a flat-rate charge.
Every year, check the rent revision: it is not retroactive and it follows the IRL.
The revision calculator gives the revised rent. For a home rated F or G, revision is forbidden.

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Give notice by registered letter with return receipt, by a bailiff (commissaire de justice) or by hand against a receipt.
A simple email is not valid. The notice period runs from the receipt of the notice.
Respect the notice period: 3 months for an unfurnished home, 1 month for a furnished one, 1 month in certain cases.
High-demand zone, first job, transfer, job loss, health, RSA or AAH benefits, social housing, violence: state the reason and attach proof.
Do the move-out inspection when the keys are handed back, in the same form as the move-in one.
Differences due to wear and tear do not allow a deduction from the deposit.
Give your new address and bank details (RIB) when you return the keys, then follow the deadline for returning the deposit.
1 month if the move-out inspection matches the move-in one, 2 months otherwise, from the handover of the keys.