Leases, notice, inventories and deposits in France
In France a lease of a main residence follows the law of 6 July 1989, which the parties cannot contract out of, and since 1 October 2026 the model contracts as amended by décret n° 2026-596. The documents are written in French under French law, and each page describes them in English. A lease of an unfurnished home runs three years, six if the landlord is a company, and renews tacitly; a furnished lease runs one year, nine months for a student, and the bail mobilité one to ten months, with no deposit. A flat-share lease binds the flatmates jointly. Rent control is an optional section, because the experiment expires at the end of November 2026 unless a law extends it. In metropolitan France a home rated G may not be let since 1 January 2025.
A tenant gives three months' notice, one month in a zone tendue or for a reason listed in art. 15, and one month for a furnished home (tenant's notice). A landlord may give notice only for the end of the term, six months ahead for an unfurnished home and three for a furnished one, to live there, to sell, or for a legitimate and serious reason (landlord's notice). Notice goes by registered letter with proof of receipt, through a commissaire de justice, or by hand against a receipt, and runs from receipt; an e-mail does not count. Rent is reviewed once a year by the IRL index (rent review), never for a home rated F or G.
The check-in and check-out inventories decide the deposit, capped at one month's rent unfurnished and two furnished. It comes back within a month if the two match, two months otherwise, and each month of delay begun adds 10 % of the rent (formal demand). A tenant never cuts the rent unilaterally: the landlord is put on notice to do the work (repairs demand), then the free conciliation commission is seized. Each département's ADIL and service-public.gouv.fr give free information. Rules as at 13 October 2026.
The documents
19 forms available to fill out or download.
Yearly rent review letter by the IRL index (France)
For a landlord whose lease in France provides for a yearly rent review. The French letter applies the rent reference index (IRL) published by INSEE: current rent, old and new index for the same quarter, new rent and start date, with the one-year rule of art. 17-1 and the ban on reviewing the rent of a home rated F or G. Best sent by registered letter with proof of receipt, to keep the date of the request.
Flat-share lease with a single lease (France)
For a landlord and two to four flatmates who sign one lease, unfurnished or furnished, for their main residence in France. The model contract, compulsory since 1 October 2026, is published free on Légifrance; this French contract follows its headings, with the joint-liability clause: a flatmate who leaves, and his or her guarantor, stay bound until replaced, at most six months after the notice. Rent for the whole home, service charges as advances or a flat sum, optional allocation of rooms. In French, signed by every party.
Lease of a furnished home (France)
For the landlord and tenant of a furnished home let as the tenant's main residence in France. The model contract, compulsory since 1 October 2026, is published free on Légifrance; this French lease follows its headings: one year renewed tacitly, or nine months not renewed for a student, one month's notice for the tenant, a deposit of at most two months, service charges as advances or a flat sum, the minimum furniture of décret n° 2015-981, the termination clause and an optional rent-control section. In French, printed and signed by each party.
Proxy for a co-owners' general meeting (France)
For a co-owner in France who cannot attend the general meeting of the building and wants to be represented. The French proxy names the proxy holder, the meeting and its date, says whether the vote is free or follows your instructions and whether the holder may pass the proxy on, and recalls the limits of art. 22 of the French law of 10 July 1965: at most three proxies unless within 10 % of the votes, and never the managing agent or its relatives or staff. Signed and handed to the holder.
Challenge to the yearly service-charge statement (France)
For a tenant in France who receives a high or poorly explained service-charge balance. The French letter asks to see the supporting documents — invoices, contracts, the apportionment key — which the landlord must keep available for six months (art. 23 of the French law of 6 July 1989), disputes items that are not recoverable charges and, if the statement is late, asks to pay the balance in twelve instalments. By registered letter with proof of receipt.
Request to the landlord for rent receipts (France)
For a tenant in France who needs rent receipts — for a rental application, housing aid, a loan, proof of address — and does not receive them. The French letter recalls that the landlord must give them free, with rent and charges shown separately (art. 21 of the French law of 6 July 1989), lists the periods requested and, if you wish, gives your express consent to receive them by e-mail. Ordinary post is enough; registered post keeps proof.
Request for the landlord's consent to sublet (France)
For a tenant in France who wishes to sublet all or part of the home, short-term lets on a platform included. The French letter asks for the landlord's written consent, including on the price, as art. 8 of the French law of 6 July 1989 requires, states the period, the area and the sub-rent against the rent per square metre of the lease, and carries a consent slip the landlord dates and signs. By registered letter with proof of receipt.
Referral to the housing conciliation commission (France)
For a tenant or landlord in France in dispute over rent, a rent supplement, the inventory of condition, the deposit, service charges, repairs, decency or a notice. The French letter asks the commission départementale de conciliation, free and made up of landlords' and tenants' representatives, to bring the parties together (art. 20 of the French law of 6 July 1989), sets out the dispute and the request and lists the documents. By registered letter with proof of receipt to the address the préfecture publishes.
Reminder and formal demand for unpaid rent (France)
For a landlord in France whose tenant owes rent or charges. The French letter lists the months owed and the total, sets a payment date, offers a payment plan and the free help available (ADIL, CAF, the housing solidarity fund), then states the next step: a formal demand for payment served by a commissaire de justice, then the lease's termination clause, six weeks after an unanswered demand, or two months where a lease signed before July 2023 says so. A first friendly reminder or a formal demand, as you choose. A copy can go to the guarantor.
Rent receipt (France)
For a landlord in France confirming that rent has been paid: the period, the rent excluding charges and the charges shown separately, the sum received and the date of payment, as art. 21 of the French law of 6 July 1989 requires. If the payment is partial, the document becomes a receipt for part-payment, not a quittance. It is free and given on the tenant's request; electronically only with the tenant's express consent. In French, signed by the landlord.
Formal demand for repairs to a rented home (France)
For a tenant in France whose home has defects the landlord does not repair: damp, broken heating, dangerous wiring, leaks. The French letter describes the defects and when they began, recalls the duty to provide a decent home and keep it in repair (art. 6 of the French law of 6 July 1989, décret n° 2002-120), sets a deadline for the work and names the remedies, while confirming the rent is still being paid. By registered letter with proof of receipt.
Guarantee for a residential lease (France)
For the person who stands as guarantor for a tenant towards the landlord of a home in France. The French deed states the rent and how it is reviewed, how long the commitment lasts and whether it is joint and several, and leaves the space where the guarantor writes the statement required by art. 2297 of the French Civil Code, with the cap in words and figures; DocMuse never prints it. In French, signed in two originals, with a copy of the lease handed to the guarantor.
Tenant's notice to leave (France)
For a tenant leaving a home in France, unfurnished or furnished. The French letter gives notice with the right period — three months, one month in a zone tendue or for a reason in art. 15, one month for a furnished home — states the reason for the shorter notice and its proof, the moving-out date, proposes the check-out inspection and asks for the deposit back at the new address. To send by registered letter with proof of receipt, through a commissaire de justice, or by hand against a receipt.
Mobility lease of a furnished home (France)
For letting a furnished home in France for one to ten months to someone in training, higher education, an apprenticeship, an internship, civic service, a job transfer or a temporary assignment (art. 25-12 of the French law of 6 July 1989). The French bail mobilité carries its compulsory statements: the name of the lease and the reason, without which it becomes an ordinary furnished lease, and the term and the ban on a deposit. Not renewable, one month's notice for the tenant, a flat sum for charges. Signed by each party.
Check-in inventory of condition of a home (France)
For the landlord and tenant in France on the day the keys are handed over, unfurnished or furnished. The French record follows the content of décret n° 2016-382: meter readings, keys and passes, the condition of floors, walls, ceilings and fittings room by room and, for a furnished home, the inventory and condition of the furniture. It notes that the tenant may have it completed within ten days. Filled in together on site, signed by each party, one copy each.
Formal demand for the return of a rent deposit (France)
For a former tenant whose landlord in France has not returned the deposit in time: one month after the keys are handed back if the check-out inspection matches the check-in, two months otherwise. The French letter sets out the dates, claims the balance and the 10 % of the monthly rent per month of delay begun (art. 22 of the French law of 6 July 1989), disputes unjustified deductions and announces the conciliation commission, then the court. By registered letter with proof of receipt.
Check-out inventory of condition of a home (France)
For the landlord and tenant in France on the day of moving out and returning the keys. The French record follows décret n° 2016-382: the tenant's new address, the date of the check-in inventory, meter readings, keys returned, the condition of each room against moving in and, for a furnished home, the furniture. It separates normal wear, which stays with the landlord, from damage, and recalls the time limit for returning the deposit. Signed by each party, one copy each.
Lease of an unfurnished home (France)
For the landlord and tenant of an unfurnished home let as the tenant's main residence in France. The model contract, compulsory since 1 October 2026 (décret n° 2026-596), is published free on Légifrance; this French lease follows its headings, ready to fill in: a term of three or six years depending on the landlord, rent, yearly review by the IRL index, service charges, a one-month deposit, the termination clause that applies six weeks after an unanswered formal demand to pay, and an optional section for rent control. In French, printed in one original per party and signed by each.
Landlord's notice to end the lease: own use, sale or legitimate reason (France)
For a landlord in France ending the lease at its term: at least six months ahead for an unfurnished home, three months for a furnished one. The French letter states the ground — taking the home back to live in, with the beneficiary and the relationship; sale, with the price and terms, which are an offer to the tenant; or a legitimate and serious reason — and lists the enclosures, including the information notice of the arrêté of 13 December 2017. By registered letter with proof of receipt, commissaire de justice, or by hand against a receipt.
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