May a French landlord charge for normal wear and tear?

No. Wear due to time and normal use — faded paint, carpet worn over the years — stays with the landlord; the tenant answers for damage and for the small repairs the law assigns to tenants (art. 7 of the French law of 6 July 1989). If the lease contains a wear-and-tear schedule, it sets the life of fittings and the share still owed. Any deduction must be supported by a quote or an invoice.

What happens if the tenant or the landlord does not turn up for the check-out?

The more diligent party has a French commissaire de justice draw up the inventory, who notifies both parties at least seven days ahead by registered letter with proof of receipt; the cost is split in half (art. 3-2 of the French law of 6 July 1989). The party who obstructed the inventory cannot then rely on the presumption of good condition. An inventory drawn up by one party alone, without the other, carries little weight.

How does the check-out inventory affect the deposit?

It sets the time for returning it: one month from the return of the keys if the check-out matches the check-in, two months if it shows differences (art. 22 of the French law of 6 July 1989). Put your new address on the document: without it, the 10 % increase per month of delay is not owed. If the deposit does not arrive in time, a written formal demand is the next step.

Check-out inventory of condition of a home (France)

Name: Check-out inventory of condition of a home (France)
Brand: DocMuse
SKU: etat-des-lieux-sortie
Price: 1.38 EUR
Availability: InStock
Author: DocMuse

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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 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.

Made for use in France
Last updated October 13, 2026

When to use this document

You are moving out of a rented flat in France and handing the keys back to the landlord.
Your tenant is leaving and you want to compare the flat’s condition with the check-in record.
You want to separate normal wear and tear from real damage before the deposit is returned.
You want a check-out inventory with meter readings and keys returned, signed by both sides.

What you fill in

The details the document asks for.

Address of the property
Home let unfurnished or furnished
Landlord
Landlord's address
Landlord's agent (name, address, professional card number)
Tenant
Second tenant (if any)
Tenant's new address
Date of the check-in inventory
Handover date
Electricity meter reading
Gas meter reading
Cold water meter reading
Hot water meter reading
Heating meter reading
Keys to the building and flat door (number)
Mailbox keys (number)
Keys to the cellar, loft or bike room (number)
Other keys, chips or cards (kind and number)
Condition: hall, entrance, storeroom
Condition: living room
Condition: kitchen
Condition: bedroom
Condition: bathroom and WC
Condition: other rooms
Condition: balcony, cellar, loft
Heating and hot water (type and condition)
Number of photos attached
Damage found compared with the check-in inventory
Inventory and condition of the furniture (furnished home only)
Remarks by the parties
City
Date
Number of originals (one per party)

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Common questions

May a French landlord charge for normal wear and tear?: No. Wear due to time and normal use — faded paint, carpet worn over the years — stays with the landlord; the tenant answers for damage and for the small repairs the law assigns to tenants (art. 7 of the French law of 6 July 1989). If the lease contains a wear-and-tear schedule, it sets the life of fittings and the share still owed. Any deduction must be supported by a quote or an invoice.
What happens if the tenant or the landlord does not turn up for the check-out?: The more diligent party has a French commissaire de justice draw up the inventory, who notifies both parties at least seven days ahead by registered letter with proof of receipt; the cost is split in half (art. 3-2 of the French law of 6 July 1989). The party who obstructed the inventory cannot then rely on the presumption of good condition. An inventory drawn up by one party alone, without the other, carries little weight.
How does the check-out inventory affect the deposit?: It sets the time for returning it: one month from the return of the keys if the check-out matches the check-in, two months if it shows differences (art. 22 of the French law of 6 July 1989). Put your new address on the document: without it, the 10 % increase per month of delay is not owed. If the deposit does not arrive in time, a written formal demand is the next step.

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

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