You may have this dream of living in France, but are not yet ready to take the plunge and buy your dream home. Thus, renting a property may be a good idea as it would enable you to taste the French lifestyle without the commitments. Furthermore, it would enable you to see if the area you would like to live in is effectively the right one for you. It is a well-known fact that French law is very protective ofits tenants, or is it?

It is important to make a distinction between renting a property as your main residence on an unfurnished basis, and all other forms of rentals (holiday lets, renting a property on a furnished basis, etc.). Let’s first discuss in detail the case where a tenant is renting a property as a main residence on an unfurnished basis, and then look at the other forms of rentals.

Effectively, renting an unfurnished property as your main home is subject to the law of 6 July 1989, which provides clear guidance as to the lease agreement. The contract is signed for a minimum of three years.

However, the tenant can cancel the contract at any time during this three-year period as long as he informs the landlord by recorded delivery and gives at least three months’ notice. The landlord can terminate this contract, but only at the end of its duration, giving six months’ notice, and only for the following reasons:

• They want to use the property themselves
• They want to sell it
• The tenant has not fulfilled his obligations.

At the end of the lease agreement, if neither party has cancelled the contract, it is automatically renewed for another three-year period.

Lease agreement

The amount of the rent has to be clearly mentioned in the contract. The contract can also specify that the rent will be increased every year in line with the average increase in rent. Six months prior to the end of the lease the landlord can inform the tenant of the new amount of the rent if the lease were to be renewed. Otherwise, when the lease is renewed, the rent will be increased in line with inflation.

On top of the rent the tenant will also be responsible for paying utility bills, coownership charges, a portion of council tax etc.

If the tenant does not pay the rent, the contract can provide that it will automatically render the lease null and void. If it does not, the landlord will have to go to court to obtain the cancellation of the lease.

The lease agreement usually provides that the tenant will be responsible for paying a deposit which could be no higher, since the new law of 8 February 2008, than one month’s rent. The deposit will be returned to the tenant at the end of the lease, except if he could be held responsible for damage caused to the property.

The landlord has two months to return the deposit at the end of the lease, otherwise interest will be charged on the deposit to the tenant’s benefit, after the two-month period. The tenant will not receive any interest on deposit monies held in France, except in the above case.

The contract can provide that the tenant has to obtain a caution or bank guarantee, ie a document signed by a bank confirming that it guarantees the payment of the rent.

If the tenant defaults on the payment of the rent, the landlord can directly contact the bank to obtain payment. The bank can then get back to the tenant to obtain reimbursement of the sums paid.

The property rented has to be a logement décent, ie a safe property with the minimum standard of heating, hot water and electricity, gas equipment which conforms with current legislation and a main room with a surface area of at least 9m² and ceiling of no less than 2.2m in height.

It is important to note that when you rent a property in France on an unfurnished basis, the equipment in the kitchen will be very basic; a wallmounted unit and base unit with a sink. A cooker, oven, fridge, etc would not necessarily be included in the rent. This means that you are likely to have to purchase this equipment yourself and have it fitted in the property at your own expense.

Energy efficient

The landlord will have to provide you with the following documents, prior to signing the lease agreement: a copy of the diagnostic de performance énergétique, which is an energy efficiency audit indicating the likely consumption of energy and the related cost; an état des risques naturels et technologiques, which is a document indicating whether the property is situated in an area subject to natural disaster such as flooding, forest fire, etc or technological disaster (such as chemical or radioactive pollution, etc.); and a copy of the report on a lead survey.

The tenant is obliged to take out insurance covering what are called risques locatifs, or rental risks. The landlord will have another insurance policy on top of this one, to cover the building.

All other forms of lease agreements are subject to the French code civil and essentially subject to the conditions of the lease agreement itself.

If you were to rent a property on a furnished basis, the landlord has the obligation to provide you with a logement décent, otherwise the conditions of the rent are those mentioned on the contract. Thus if you are renting a property as a holiday let, on a furnished basis, etc it is important that you understand the contract as you would not benefit from the protection of the law mentioned above.

It would be advisable to obtain a written contract confirming both parties’ details, the duration of the lease, when it could be renewed/cancelled, the amount of the rent, each party’s obligations, an inventory if applicable, etc.

For all type of contracts it is advisable to carry out an inventory of fixtures, to be signed by both parties, prior to taking possession of the property. This would avoid any disagreement in future on the state of the property at the end of the lease.

You should seek legal advice to ensure that you understand the terms of the contract, that it is legally sound, and that your rights are protected.