France: renting a home, rent, deposit and notice

Unfurnished, furnished or mobility

Three types of lease allow you to rent a home as a main residence, and their rules differ.

• Unfurnished home: lease of 3 years minimum, deposit of 1 month’s rent excluding charges at most, charges by advances with an annual adjustment, annual revision possible if the lease provides for it, tenant’s notice of 3 months (1 month in some cases).
• Furnished home: lease of 1 year minimum (9 months for a student), deposit of 2 months at most, charges by advances or flat rate, tenant’s notice of 1 month.
• Mobility lease: from 1 to 10 months, deposit forbidden, flat-rate charges, rent revision forbidden, notice of 1 month.

The file and the fees at signing

The landlord can only ask for the supporting documents on the list set by decree (identity, address, employment status, income): asking for others can cost up to a €3,000 fine, €15,000 for a company. They cannot ask for any sum to reserve the home or before the lease is signed.

If an agency is involved, the file, viewing and lease fees are shared. The tenant’s share exceeds neither half of the fees billed nor, in 2026, €12.10 (very high-demand zone), €10.09 (high-demand zone) or €8.07 (low-demand zone) per m² of living area. For the move-in inspection done with the agent, it is half and €3.03 per m² at most. The other costs, such as the advertisement, stay with the landlord.

In some large municipalities in high-demand zones (Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Montpellier…), the rent is capped by reference rents: a landlord who does not respect the cap risks a fine of up to €5,000, €15,000 for a company.

The inspection report and the deposit

The move-in inspection is done when the keys are handed over, together, in writing, describing each room; the move-out one must have the same form. If one of the parties does not come, a bailiff (commissaire de justice) can draw up a report, with notice of at least 7 days. Differences due to wear and tear do not give rise to a deduction from the deposit.

For an unfurnished home, the deposit is 1 month’s rent excluding charges at most, paid at signing; it cannot be raised during the lease or at renewal. It must be returned within a maximum of 1 month if the move-out inspection matches the move-in one, 2 months otherwise, from the handover of the keys. Deductions must be justified. In a co-ownership building, the landlord may keep a provision for charges, of 20% of the deposit at most, until the annual accounts are approved.

The rent revision

If the lease contains an annual revision clause, the rent can be revised once a year according to Insee’s rent reference index (IRL): new rent = current rent × IRL of the reference quarter of the current year / IRL of the same quarter of the previous year, rounded to the cent. For example, €600 × 148.37 / 146.68 = €606.91.

The landlord has one year after the lease’s revision date to ask for it: it is not retroactive and, after the year, it is lost. It is forbidden for a home rated F or G in the energy performance diagnosis (DPE) when the lease is signed, renewed or tacitly renewed since August 24, 2022 (July 1, 2024 in the overseas territories).

Home insurance

The tenant must insure the home at least against tenant’s risks (fire, explosion, water damage) and hand over the certificate when the keys are handed over, then every year at the landlord’s request. Failing that, the landlord can ask for the lease to be terminated (if the lease has a termination clause, after a formal notice that leaves 1 month to take out insurance) or insure the home on the tenant’s behalf.

Leaving the home

The tenant can leave at any time by giving notice. For an unfurnished home, the notice period is 3 months, and 1 month in some cases: home in a high-demand zone (saying so in the letter, with the address), first job, transfer, job loss, state of health, RSA or AAH benefits, social housing, domestic violence. The reason must be stated and proof attached; otherwise, 3 months apply.

Notice is given by registered letter with return receipt, by a bailiff’s deed or by hand against a receipt; a simple email is not valid. The notice period runs from the receipt of the notice.