Should you rent furnished or unfurnished in France in 2026?

A qualifying main-home meublé must include the minimum equipment set by decree: bedding, shutters or curtains, hobs, oven or microwave, fridge, tableware, cleaning tools, and the other listed basics so you can live without buying a household kit first. Demand the inventaire du mobilier (furniture inventory) plus a detailed état des lieux (condition report) with photos at handover.

Ordinary furnished main-home leases usually run one year and renew. A furnished student lease can run nine months without automatic renewal. Tenant notice is normally one month. The security deposit can reach two months of rent before charges, so Paris and Lyon move-in cash rises fast: Living in Paris, Living in Lyon, and Rent in France.

Furnished stock helps when your container is delayed, you are still viewing, or an employer pays a relocation bridge. A true meublé is different from a tourist platform night or a bail mobilité (mobility lease) for qualifying temporary stays: Short-term housing for newcomers.

Unfurnished main-home leases with an individual landlord are normally at least three years. The deposit ceiling is one month of base rent before charges. Monthly asking rents for empty homes are often lower than comparable meublé stock once you add IKEA or second-hand furniture maths.

Plan delivery access, lift booking, and a temporary mattress week inside How to rent a home. Guarantor and Visale rules still apply either way: Rent without a guarantor. If the listing says meublé but lacks the decree kit, push for correction or treat the price as wrong. Incomplete inventories also fuel deposit fights later: Avoid rental scams.

CAF housing benefit can apply to eligible furnished or unfurnished main homes when other conditions hold; do not assume the furniture label alone decides aid: Apply for housing benefit.