What tenant rights should movers know in France in 2026?

Get a written main-home bail that states base rent, charges locatives (recoverable service charges), furnishing status, deposit, term, and annual review clause: Rental contracts and deposits. The dépôt de garantie cannot exceed one month of base rent when the home is unfurnished or two months when it is furnished. Complete a room-by-room état des lieux with dated photos before you take the keys.

Tenant home insurance covering at least risques locatifs (fire, water damage, explosion to the rented home) is compulsory for an ordinary habitation lease, including a bail mobilité. Keep the attestation for handover day: Renters insurance.

Refuse deposit-before-viewing and unverified transfer asks: Avoid rental scams. Build the permitted dossier first: How to rent a home.

For an unfurnished main-home lease, tenant notice is normally three months, but it falls to one month in a zone tendue (high-demand) commune when you state that ground correctly in the congé letter. Furnished and mobility tenants normally give one month. Use the official Service-Public commune checker rather than assuming every big city matches.

Owners handle structural and non-locative repairs and must deliver a logement décent (decent home), including the energy performance path that blocks new G-rated main-home lettings in metropolitan France. You handle day-to-day entretien and listed réparations locatives. If owner works last more than 21 days, ask for the proportional rent reduction Service-Public describes.

Charges you repay are only the recoverable list: cleaning of common parts, lift upkeep, water, and similar usage costs, not the full syndic management fee for ownership. Demand the annual régularisation with a décompte you can check. City rent ceilings sit in a separate tool: Rent control. Eligible households can still apply for CAF housing benefit after the lease is live: Apply for housing benefit.

When negotiation fails, start with the commission départementale de conciliation (departmental conciliation board) for many rent, charges, and deposit disputes before the juge des contentieux de la protection.