Guarantee for a residential lease (France)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
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.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- Your son or daughter is renting a flat in France and the landlord asks you to stand as guarantor.
- A friend’s landlord wants a guarantor for the rent and you have agreed to sign.
- The tenancy is about to be signed and the landlord wants your guarantee in writing at the same time.
- You need the guarantee deed, the acte de cautionnement, to back a tenant’s rent.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Guarantor (full name)
- Guarantor's date and place of birth
- Guarantor's address
- Landlord
- Landlord's address
- Tenant
- Date of the lease
- Address of the property
- Monthly net rent, excluding service charges
- Monthly service charges (advance or flat sum), in euros
- Rent review terms in the lease
- Cap guaranteed, principal and extras, in euros
- Joint and several guarantee, or simple guarantee
- How long the guarantee lasts (until a date, or with no set term)
- Other flatmates (flat share only)
- City
- Date
- Date the lease was handed to the guarantor
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Why must the guarantor write part of the deed personally?
- Because art. 2297 of the French Civil Code requires, on pain of nullity, that the guarantor personally writes the statement of the commitment and of the cap guaranteed, in words and figures, and, where the guarantee is joint and several, the waiver of having the tenant pursued first. There is no set formula any more. DocMuse therefore leaves blank lines, with what the statement must contain, and never prints it. Write it by hand, in pen, before signing.
- May a landlord always ask for a guarantor?
- No. A landlord who has taken out insurance against unpaid rent may not add a personal guarantee, unless the home is let to a student or an apprentice; the guarantee would be void. A landlord that is a company, other than a family property company, may ask only for a guarantee from an approved body, such as Visale, or for one for a student without a grant (art. 22-1 of the French law of 6 July 1989).
- How long does the guarantor remain bound?
- Until the date written in the deed, if a term is set. With no term, the guarantor may end the commitment, preferably by registered letter, but this takes effect only at the end of the lease period, first or renewed, during which the landlord receives it (art. 22-1 of the French law of 6 July 1989), and debts arising until then stay covered. In a flat share the commitment ends with the guaranteed flatmate's joint liability, at the latest six months after his or her notice takes effect.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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