French rental law
The law of 6 July 1989, in the order a landlord actually needs it
Law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 governs almost every home let in France: how long a lease runs, what it must come with, what each side owes, and how it ends. This page follows a tenancy from signature to the return of the deposit, with the figures you will be asked for.
Nothing is switched on until you say so.
- Minimum term of an unfurnished lease from an individual landlord
- 3 years
- Minimum term of a furnished lease
- 1 year
- Largest deposit, unfurnished or furnished, rent excluding charges
- 1 or 2 months
- Notice a landlord gives before the term of an unfurnished lease
- 6 months
1Does it apply
Which lets the law covers, and which it leaves to other rules
It governs a home let as the tenant’s main residence, meaning lived in at least eight months a year, in mainland France and the overseas departments. Article 2 draws the line.
Covered
- An unfurnished home let as a main residence
- A furnished home let as a main residence (Article 25-3 and following)
- A home that is also the tenant’s place of work
- A bail mobilité: furnished, one to ten months, for a tenant in training, studies, an apprenticeship, an internship, civic service or a work assignment
Under other rules
- A second home
- A seasonal or holiday let
- A shop, an office or a professional-only lease
- Housing that comes with a job
- Residential-care and hostel housing (logements-foyers)
- A garage or parking space let on its own
2At signature
How long the lease runs
Two things settled at signature decide the term: furnished or not, and who the landlord is. The bars are drawn to scale.
Unfurnished, individual landlord
Renews on its own
3 yearsUnfurnished, company landlord
Renews on its own
6 yearsFurnished
Renews on its own
1 yearFurnished, student tenant
Ends at term, no renewal
9 monthsBail mobilité
Ends at term, no renewal
1 to 10 months
A family SCI counts as an individual landlord. An individual may sign for less than three years, never less than one, when a stated family or work event will need the home back (Article 11).
What the lease must come with
The lease follows the standard model set by decree no. 2015-587, and these go with it. A missing one does not cancel the lease, but it can cost a rent reduction or damages.
- Energy performance diagnostic (DPE)Valid ten years
- State of risks and pollution (ERP)Less than six months old at signature
- Electrical installation reportInstallation over fifteen years old; valid six years
- Gas installation reportInstallation over fifteen years old; valid six years
- Lead report (CREP)Building from before 1949; six years if lead is found
- Aircraft noise noticeInside an airport noise exposure zone
- Asbestos reportBuilding permitted before July 1997; available on request
- Check-in inventory (état des lieux)Drawn up together when the keys change hands
- Information noticeThe official summary of both sides’ rights
- Extracts of the co-ownership rulesWhere the building is a copropriété
What you may ask for, and when you may raise it
The deposit cap
- Unfurnished1 month
- Furnished2 months
- Bail mobilitéNone
Counted in rent excluding charges. It cannot be revised during the lease and earns the tenant no interest.
Setting and raising the rent
- 1Set freely at signature, except in the cases below.
- 2Rent-controlled cities (Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Montpellier and others): no more than the reference rent plus 20%, unless a justified supplement applies.
- 3Tense-market areas: on a re-let, no more than the previous tenant’s rent revised by the IRL, with narrow exceptions.
- 4Once a year, only if the lease has a revision clause. Claim it within a year of the date or that year is lost; it runs from the claim, never backwards.
- 5Homes rated F or G: no increase at all since 24 August 2022, in mainland France.
3While it runs
What each side owes: Article 6 and Article 7
Article 6 is the landlord’s half, Article 7 the tenant’s. Both are public policy, so a clause that waives either is void.
Landlord, Article 6
- 1Deliver a decent home: safe, healthy, equipped for normal use and above the energy floor
- 2Hand it over in good repair, with every piece of equipment working
- 3Guarantee quiet enjoyment, and answer for hidden defects that get in its way
- 4Keep it fit for use and carry out every repair that is not the tenant’s
- 5Allow the tenant’s fittings, as long as they do not transform the home
- 6Give a free rent receipt whenever the tenant asks (Article 21)
Tenant, Article 7
- 1Pay the rent and charges on the dates agreed
- 2Use the home peaceably, for the purpose the lease gives it
- 3Answer for damage during the lease, unless it came from force majeure, the landlord’s fault or a third party the tenant did not let in
- 4Take on routine upkeep and the minor repairs listed by decree no. 87-712
- 5Let in works announced in writing: never on a weekend or public holiday without agreement, and with a rent cut if they last more than 21 days
- 6Make no transformation without the landlord’s written consent
- 7Insure against rental risks, and prove it at the handover of keys and each year on request
Who repairs what
Decree no. 87-712 of 26 August 1987 lists the tenant’s share. It is a guide rather than a closed list, and Article 7 carves out the rest: wear and age, defects, faulty work and force majeure fall to the landlord, even on an item the decree names.
Tenant
- Bulbs, fuses and sockets
- Tap washers, seals and joints
- Unblocking sinks and drains
- The annual boiler service
- Chimney and flue sweeping
- Mowing and trimming a private garden
- Keeping the smoke detector working
Landlord
- Replacing a boiler or water heater at the end of its life
- Roof, facade and structure
- Anything worn out by age
- Damage from a construction defect or faulty work
- Bringing the home up to the decency and energy standards
- Installing the smoke detector
The energy floor, rating by rating
Since the Climate and Resilience law of 2021, the DPE rating is part of what makes a home decent. Each class at the bottom of the scale is shut to new and renewed leases on its own date, in mainland France.
- A
Can be let
- B
Can be let
- C
Can be let
- D
Can be let
- E
Cannot be let from 1 January 2034
- F
Cannot be let from 1 January 2028Rent frozen
- G
Cannot be let since 1 January 2025Rent frozen
The overseas departments run later: class G from 2028, class F from 2031. A tenant in a home below the floor can ask the court to order the works.
4When it ends
How much notice, and from whom
A tenant may leave at any time. A landlord may only end the lease at its term, and only on one of three grounds. Notice runs from the day it is received: registered letter, commissaire de justice, or hand delivery against a signature.
Tenant, unfurnished
One month in a tense-market area, or on a ground stated in the letter: first job, job loss, transfer, health, RSA or AAH, social housing, domestic violence
3 months
Tenant, furnished
At any time, with no reason needed
1 month
Landlord, unfurnished
Before the term only: to live in it, to sell it, or for a legitimate and serious reason
6 months
Landlord, furnished
Before the term only, on the same three grounds
3 months
A notice to sell gives an unfurnished tenant first refusal at the price it states.
A tenant over 65 on modest means cannot be given notice without an offer of rehousing nearby, unless the landlord is also over 65 or on modest means.
Returning the deposit
The clock starts when the keys come back.
- Keys handed backThe exit inventory is drawn up and compared with the one at entry
- Within 1 monthIf the exit inventory matches the one at entry
- Within 2 monthsIf it does not, less the deductions you can justify
- After that10% of a month’s rent, excluding charges, for every month begun late
In a copropriété, up to 20% may be held back until the building’s annual accounts are approved, then settled within a month.
Two things landlords get wrong
The visit that is not a right, and the lease that outlives a couple
Both come up constantly, and both have a narrower answer than the question expects.
The landlord's "once a year" visit
No article gives a landlord a standing right to inspect. The tenant holds the keys, and entering without their consent is a criminal offence, owner or not. Access exists for works announced in writing (Article 7), and for viewings before a re-let or a sale, never on a public holiday and no more than two hours on a working day (Article 4). A yearly check exists only if the lease provides for it, and it still happens by appointment.
A lease in two names, after a separation
It depends on who the two are. Co-tenants who are neither married nor in a PACS fall under Article 8-1: with a joint-liability clause, the one who leaves stays liable until a new co-tenant signs, and six months after the notice takes effect at the latest. Without that clause, liability ends with the notice.
- Notice sent
- Notice takes effect1 or 3 months later
- Liability ends6 months later at most
- Married: both hold the lease under Article 1751 of the Civil Code, whoever signed. Rent is a household debt, so the spouse who moves out stays liable until the divorce is recorded in the civil registers.
- PACS partners: co-holders if they asked for it together, and liable for the rent until the PACS is dissolved.
- A partner who leaves because of domestic violence stops being liable the day after the landlord receives the protection order or conviction (Article 8-2).
Where Dardaris fits
One law changes what a lease can say. Dardaris reads which one applies.
Every building carries its own jurisdiction, read off its address, not guessed from where the account was opened. A French address opens the lease on this law, with its term, its deposit cap and its notice periods, before you have to look any of them up.
The right lease from the address
Furnished or unfurnished: the term, the deposit cap and the notice periods follow the building and the lease you choose.
What the law still asks of you
The diagnostics this law requires, with their validity, on one calendar, chased before they lapse.
The lease, filed against the law it stands on
So a question about notice or repairs is answered from the actual document, not a guess.
Questions landlords ask about the law of 6 July 1989
What is the law of 6 July 1989?
Law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 is the statute governing residential tenancies in France: what a lease must contain, how long it runs, how it ends, and what each side owes the other while it does. It applies to a home let as the tenant’s main residence, furnished or not.
What does Article 7 of the law require?
Article 7 lists the tenant’s obligations: pay the rent and charges on the agreed dates, use the home peaceably, answer for damage during the lease, carry out the minor repairs set by decree no. 87-712, let in works the landlord has announced, make no transformation without written consent, and insure the home against rental risks.
What is décret n°87-712 du 26 août 1987?
It is the decree Article 7 points to for the detail of "réparations locatives": the routine upkeep and small repairs a tenant owes, from tap washers to light bulbs to the private garden. Its list is a guide, not a closed inventory, and even on a listed item, wear, defects and force majeure remain the landlord’s.
How much notice does a tenant have to give?
Three months for an unfurnished home, cut to one month in a tense-market area or on a listed ground such as a first job, job loss, health or RSA, stated in the letter itself. One month for a furnished home, whatever the reason.
How long does a landlord have to return the deposit?
One month from the return of the keys if the exit inventory matches the entry one, two months if it does not. Every month begun late costs the landlord 10% of a month’s rent excluding charges.
Does a landlord have a right to visit once a year?
No. The law gives a landlord no standing right to inspect. Access exists for works announced in writing and for viewings before a re-let or a sale, never on a public holiday and no more than two hours on a working day. A yearly visit exists only if the lease provides for it, by appointment.
What happens to a lease in two names when the couple separates?
It depends on the couple. Unmarried co-tenants fall under Article 8-1: with a joint-liability clause, the one who leaves stays liable until a replacement signs, and six months after their notice takes effect at the latest. Spouses both hold the lease under Article 1751 of the Civil Code and stay liable until the divorce is recorded; PACS partners until the PACS is dissolved.
Does this law apply to every rental in France?
It applies to a home let as the tenant’s main residence, furnished or not, in mainland France and the overseas departments. A second home, a seasonal let, a commercial or professional lease and housing that comes with a job fall under other rules, which is why the pack a lease opens on depends on both the address and what the property is let for.
Let the lease open on the law that actually governs it.
Hand over one building and see the term, the notice periods and the compliance items it opens with.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so