How do rental contracts and deposits work in France in 2026?

For a tenant's main home, an unfurnished lease is normally at least three years when the owner is an individual. A furnished lease is normally one year and renews, while a furnished student lease can run for nine months without automatic renewal. A bail mobilité (short mobility lease) is reserved for qualifying temporary situations and normally runs from one to ten months.

An unfurnished tenant normally gives three months' notice, but that falls to one month in a zone tendue (high-demand rental area) and in certain personal situations. A furnished or mobility tenant normally gives one month. Use the official commune checker and follow the required notice method rather than assuming that every large city has identical rules.

The dépôt de garantie (security deposit) cannot exceed one month of base rent for an unfurnished main-home lease or two months for a furnished one. No security deposit is allowed under a mobility lease. First rent and a lawful agency charge are separate from the deposit.

For an agency letting, the owner pays advertising and most owner-side work. The tenant can share specified costs for the viewing, application, and contract, subject to the lower of half the agency's charge or a geographic per-square-metre ceiling. The tenant's share of an agency move-in report is also capped. Check the current Service-Public amounts because these regulated ceilings can be revised.

Charges locatives (tenant service charges) may be paid as an advance followed by an annual adjustment, or as a fixed amount in some furnished and mobility contracts. The contract should separate base rent, charges, and any lawful rent supplement.

The état des lieux (move-in condition report) is central to deposit disputes. Record every room, key, meter, appliance, stain, crack, and missing item with dated photographs. A furnished contract also needs a detailed furniture inventory.

If the move-out report matches the move-in report, the owner normally has one month after key return to repay the deposit. When differences justify deductions, the normal maximum is two months. Deductions need evidence such as reports, invoices, or estimates; ordinary wear is not tenant damage.

Rent can be reviewed once a year only if the contract contains a review clause, using France's official rent reference index. The owner cannot apply a missed review retroactively. In metropolitan France, F- and G-rated homes covered by the energy rules cannot receive the normal rent increase.

Encadrement des loyers (local rent-control rules) adds address-specific ceilings in Paris, Lyon and Villeurbanne, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Lille, and other covered territories. It is separate from the wider rules limiting changes between tenants in high-demand areas.

For a disagreement about deposit, charges, condition, notice, or rent, first write to the owner or agent with evidence. The local ADIL, the departmental housing information service within the national ANIL network, gives free housing-law guidance. The Commission départementale de conciliation is the departmental conciliation commission that can handle specified tenancy disputes before court.