What lease for a rental?
Private deed lease
Private deed lease is drafted between private individuals and signed by them or via a rental manager or lawyer.
Notarial lease
Notarial lease is an authentic deed, drafted and signed by notary and parties. Deed contains in particular obligation to pay rent.
Why use a notarial lease?
Advantages of authentic deed
- — tenant does not risk signing lease not containing all guarantees offered by law;
- — has security that sums he paid are exact and incontestable by owner;
Same goes for security of owner, as each type of lease is framed by numerous mandatory legislative and regulatory texts.
Certain breaches are criminally sanctioned and liability of owners is increasingly sought. Public health issues sometimes justify these imputations. Landlord must be sure to respect all mandatory rules in housing rental (notion of decent housing, minimum surface and volume, delivery of mandatory diagnoses...)
Notary's advice
Unfurnished or furnished rental: what are rules? How to draft lease? How to estimate rent? How to protect against non-payment of rent? To whom should one rent? What must inventory comprise? What are landlord's obligations (decent housing)? Who is responsible for works? Does rental need request for prior authorization of housing rental? ...
Faced with increasing rules to respect in rental matters, advice of a notary will be precious at time of renting a property and will avoid landlord committing errors or omissions.
How to fix rent?
The principle
Rent of new rentals (first rental or re-rental with change of tenant) is fixed freely (Law 89-462 of 6-7-1989 art. 17, II).
Exceptions
Energy-guzzling housing
Rent of leases renewed or tacitly renewed from 24 August 2022, relating to housing of energy class G cannot exceed last rent applied (Law 89-462 of 6-7-1989 art. 17, II).
For leases concluded, renewed or tacitly renewed from 24 August 2022 on housing of energy class F, new tenant must be shown last rent applied (reminder, it is prohibited to conclude housing lease on housing of energy class G since 1 January 2025).
Rent capping
This experiment is applicable until 24 November 2026 in certain tense zones (art. 140 of law 2018-1021 of 23-11-2018).
Subject to conditions listed in article 140, municipalities concerned may request implementation of rent capping device over all or part of territory.
State representative in department fixes, each year, by decree:
- — a reference rent,
- — an increased reference rent (equal to reference rent increased by 20%)
- — and a decreased reference rent (equal to reference rent decreased by 30%),
These rents are expressed per price per square meter of habitable surface, by category of housing and by geographical sector.
Rent fixed cannot exceed increased reference rent corresponding to characteristics of housing.
A rent supplement may be applied for housing presenting certain characteristics of location or comfort.
Framing of rent increases
Rent increases authorized during new rental can be limited:
- — In tense zone, (in municipalities where tax on vacant housing applies and listed in annex to decree No. 2013-392 of 10 May 2013, regularly updated);
- — by blocking decree of 27 July 2017, updated each year (and lastly in July 2025).
These provisions do not apply if housing is rented for first time or no longer rented for at least 18 months.
Initial rent requested from new tenant must be:
- — identical to that applied to previous tenant,
- — and revised according to variation of reference rent index (IRL) unless revision intervened during previous 12 months.
- — Lower than increased reference rent fixed by decree
Statutory exceptions
Exceptionally, rent of new lease contract may be revalued under conditions and limits fixed by article 4 of blocking decree:
- — If rent of previous tenant is manifestly undervalued: increase of new rent cannot exceed half difference between amount of rent determined by reference to rents usually observed in neighborhood for comparable housing and last rent applied to previous tenant
- — If improvement works have been carried out since conclusion of initial contract with previous tenant or, in case lease has been renewed, since its last renewal: increase of annual rent cannot exceed 15% of real cost of works including all taxes;
- — if improvement works have been carried out for less than six months and for amount at least equivalent to last year of rent: rent can be freely revalued.
How is rent revised during lease?
Except exceptions (in particular in case of manifestly undervalued rent), annual increase of rent (on date agreed between parties or, failing that, on anniversary date of lease) is only possible if expressly provided in rental contract.
Cannot be higher than variation of reference rent index (IRL), published quarterly by INSEE. This index corresponds to average, over last twelve months, of evolution of consumer prices, excluding tobacco and excluding rents.
Landlord must express his will to apply this revision provided in contract. He has period of one year, counting from planned date, to make request. After this period, rent revision for elapsed year is no longer possible.
Warning: Rent of leases concluded, renewed or tacitly renewed from 24 August 2022, relating to housing of energy class F cannot be revised (law 89-462 of 6-7-1989 art. 17-1, II). Same for leases renewed or tacitly renewed and concluded before 1 January 2025 for housing of energy class G.
Rental Guarantees: Security Deposit & Guarantor
Rental and security deposit
Landlord may require security deposit at time of renting property as principal residence. Paid upon entering premises, its amount must obligatorily appear in lease and cannot exceed 1 month rent without charges for unfurnished rental (unfurnished, article 22 of law of 6 July 1989).
No security deposit may be requested if rent is payable in advance for period exceeding 2 months. Security deposit is limited to 2 months for furnished rental. (Article 25-6 of same law)
Warning: landlord cannot require security deposit within framework of mobility lease (art. 25-17 of same law).
Rental and guarantee
Guarantee may be natural person (individual) or legal entity who commits in writing (guarantee deed) to pay owner, in particular rent, charges and rental repairs in case of tenant default.
Joint and Several Guarantee System
Example of body acting as guarantor: Action logement, via Visale device. In case of rent defaults body can take charge of equivalent of 36 monthly payments maximum. Tenant must then reimburse guarantor.
Notice and protection of tenants
Reasons for notice given by landlord
In accordance with article 15 of law of 6 July 1989, 'When landlord gives notice to his tenant, this notice must be justified:
either by his decision to repossess or sell housing, or by legitimate and serious reason, in particular failure by tenant of one of obligations incumbent on him.
Under penalty of nullity, notice given by landlord must indicate reason alleged and, in case of repossession, name and address of beneficiary of repossession as well as nature of link existing between landlord and beneficiary of repossession who can only be landlord, his spouse, partner to whom he is linked by civil solidarity pact registered on date of notice, his notorious concubine for at least one year on date of notice, his ascendants, descendants or those of spouse, partner or notorious concubine.
When giving notice to tenant to repossess housing, landlord justifies real and serious character of his repossession decision. Notice period applicable to notice is six months when emanates from landlord'.
Notice in case of purchase of occupied housing
Similarly, conditions under which owner who acquires occupied housing can give notice to tenant are strictly framed by same article.
- — Thus, if term of current lease contract intervenes less than 3 years after date of acquisition, landlord cannot give notice to tenant for sale except at term of first tacit renewal or first renewal of current lease contract (on other hand, if term intervenes more than 3 years after date of acquisition, notice for sale can be given at term of current lease contract).
- — If it is notice for repossession and term of current lease intervenes less than 2 years after acquisition, notice given by landlord at term of current lease contract will take effect 2 years from acquisition.
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