Last verified: 4 October 2026, based on the official pages cited at the bottom of the page.

The lease contract (bail): a document you sign blindly (and that commits you for years)

The lease contract (or "rental contract") is the document that binds you to your landlord. When the home becomes your main home, it is governed by law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989: this law is protective, and it applies even if you did not understand everything when signing — certain prohibited clauses that might appear in your lease are considered not written, the law treats them as if they do not exist. Tip: read your lease in full before signing anyway.

Many newcomers sign without fully understanding and discover too late a joint liability clause (clause de solidarité), an oversized security deposit (dépôt de garantie) or a wrongly calculated rent. This guide tells you what to check line by line before signing.

Step 1 — Identify the type of lease (bail)

First of all, check what type of lease (bail) you are being offered: the duration, obligations and early termination depend on it. For a main home (résidence principale), there are 3 types of lease: unfurnished, furnished and mobility lease (bail mobilité).

Unfurnished lease (bail vide) — law 89-462

• Minimum duration: 3 years if the owner is an individual, 6 years if it is a legal entity (company, association) — however, the law treats as an individual a civil company made up exclusively of relatives up to the fourth degree. By exception, the lease can be shorter, but never less than 1 year, when a specific event justifies that an individual owner takes back the home for professional or family reasons — the lease must mention these reasons and this event.
• Tenant notice period: you can give notice at any time, with a notice period of 3 months (1 month in the special cases provided by law). Notice is given by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by service of a judicial officer, or by hand delivery against receipt; the notice period starts from its receipt.
• Security deposit (dépôt de garantie): maximum 1 month's rent excluding service charges (charges).
• Renewal: if no notice is given, the lease is renewed or automatically extended. The owner can only terminate the lease at the end of the term and for an authorised reason: to take back the property to live in, to sell, or for a legitimate and serious reason.

Furnished lease (bail meublé) — amended law 89-462

• Minimum duration: 1 year (9 months if you are a student). Warning: the 9-month lease is not renewable — to stay, you need a new lease.
• Tenant notice period (préavis): 1 month, you can give notice at any time, in the same forms.
• Security deposit (dépôt de garantie): maximum 2 months' rent excluding service charges (charges).
• Minimum required furniture: bedding with duvet or blanket, shutters or curtains in the bedrooms, cooking plates, oven or microwave, refrigerator, freezer or freezer compartment in the refrigerator (max. -6°), crockery, kitchen utensils, table, chairs, shelves, lighting, cleaning equipment. An inventory and detailed list of the furniture must be made at move-in and move-out, signed by both parties and attached to the lease.

Mobility lease (bail mobilité) — ELAN law

• Duration: 1 to 10 months, not renewable and not extendable. The duration can be changed once by amendment, but the total cannot exceed 10 months. If you stay longer, the new lease signed for the same home must be a "standard" lease.
• Reserved for certain profiles: professional training, higher education, apprenticeship, internship, civic service, job transfer or temporary assignment as part of your work. You must be able to prove this with a document (contract, internship or training agreement, etc.).
• Security deposit (dépôt de garantie) prohibited — but the landlord can ask for a guarantor, and you can in particular use the Visale guarantee.
• Tenant notice period (préavis): 1 month.
• Note: a law of 26 November 2025 provides, for employment-oriented residences, a duration from 1 week to 18 months — pending an implementing decree.

Step 2 — Check the required information

A compliant lease (bail) must be in writing (in as many copies as there are parties) and contain at a minimum:

1. Identity of the parties: name and address of the owner (or their legal name and registered office) and, if there is one, those of their representative (for example the agency), name of the tenant.
2. Start date and duration of the lease (in a mobility lease, if the duration is not indicated, the mobility lease does not apply).
3. Description of the home: composition and intended use of the home, living area (if not mentioned or incorrect = possible action to reduce the rent), rooms for private use and common areas.
4. Intended use of the home: the planned use — residential, or mixed professional and residential use.
5. Amount of rent, payment terms and any rules for rent increases.
6. Amount of service charges (charges) and how they are collected: in unfurnished rentals, by advance payments with annual adjustment; in furnished rentals, by advance payments with annual adjustment or as a fixed amount; in a mobility lease, as a fixed amount paid with the rent.
7. Security deposit (dépôt de garantie): its amount, if the lease provides for one.
8. Technical reports attached: valid DPE, CREP (lead, in the cases provided for by the public health code), inspection of electrical and gas installations if over 15 years old, risk report and noise report if the area is concerned.
9. Documents attached: information notice, move-in condition report (état des lieux), home insurance certificate (assurance habitation), inventory of furniture (for furnished rentals), extract from the building rules if there is a co-ownership.

💡 Note: the lease must comply with the official lease template in force on the date of signing—a new template applies from 1 October 2026 (unfurnished and furnished). A "homemade" format that differs from the template? Ask why.

Step 3 — Break down the rent and service charges (charges)

Rent excluding service charges (HC) vs rent including service charges (CC)

• The HC rent (hors charges) = the rent alone.
• The service charges = what the landlord can bill you for, with proof: services related to the home, routine maintenance of shared facilities (lift, etc.), taxes for services you benefit from directly.

You pay "CC rent" = HC + advance on service charges. The advance is adjusted each year, with a breakdown of charges by type (electricity, hot water, cold water, lift, etc.) and supporting documents.

Indexation

The rent can only be revised once a year, and only if a clause in the lease (bail) provides for it—otherwise, no revision. The revision is calculated using the rent reference index (IRL, published by Insee). Two prohibitions: for homes rated F or G on the DPE (in mainland France, leases signed, renewed or extended since 24 August 2022) = revision prohibited; for a mobility lease (bail mobilité), revision is prohibited for the entire lease.

Rent control (capped municipalities)

In certain municipalities, the rent is capped by a lower reference rent and an upper reference rent: Paris, Bordeaux, Lille (with Hellemmes and Lomme, leases signed or renewed between March 2020 and 24 November 2026), Lyon, Villeurbanne, Montpellier, Est Ensemble, Plaine Commune, the Basque Country and part of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole. The landlord cannot freely exceed the upper reference rent. Before signing, check your lease (bail): in these municipalities, it must state the reference rent and the upper reference rent.

Step 4 — Clauses to check line by line

🔍 Joint liability clause (clause de solidarité) (flat-sharing/colocation) If you are flat-sharing (colocation) on a single lease (bail), read carefully. With a joint liability clause (clause de solidarité), each flatmate (and their guarantor) is liable for the entire amount due: if one flatmate leaves without paying their share, the landlord can claim it from you. And it doesn't stop when they leave: for the departing flatmate and their guarantor, the obligation ends at the latest 6 months after the end of their notice period (préavis)—and at the end of the notice period if a replacement is then named on the lease. In practice, an individual lease for each flatmate avoids this. Note: a mobility lease (bail mobilité) cannot contain a joint liability clause.

🔍 Termination clause The lease for an unfurnished or furnished home must contain a termination clause: it allows termination if you do not pay the security deposit or if you do not pay the rent or service charges. It only takes effect six weeks after a formal demand for payment has remained unpaid. It can also provide for termination in case of failure to take out rental risk insurance or disturbances to neighbours confirmed by a final court decision (res judicata).

🔍 Prohibited clauses: the law treats them as void Some clauses are prohibited, even if signed: they must be considered void and must not be applied. Watch out for:

• Banning you from accommodating people who do not usually live with you;
• Requiring direct debit as the payment method, or advance signing of bills of exchange or promissory notes;
• Requiring you to take out insurance with a company chosen by the landlord;
• Making you pay fees for issuing or sending a rent receipt (quittance de loyer) (free on request).

If you spot a clause like this, you can challenge it: it has no value, whether signed or not.

Step 5 — Pitfalls to avoid as a newcomer

🚨 Hidden subletting A "friend" offers you their flat while they're abroad. Legally, the tenant cannot transfer their lease (bail) or sublet without the landlord's written consent (including the price). And if the main lease ends, the subtenant cannot claim any rights against the landlord or any right to stay. Ask to see the written consent, or sign a lease directly with the landlord.

🚨 Oral lease The lease must be in writing. Without a written contract, everything gets complicated: the Visale guarantee requires a lease or an occupancy agreement, and for APL in flat-sharing (colocation), your name must appear on the lease. If you have a verbal arrangement, ask for a written contract.

🚨 Mobility lease used as a "rolling" lease Reminder: the mobility lease is non-renewable and non-extendable. If, at the end of the lease, you sign a new lease with the same landlord for the same home, this new lease must be a standard furnished lease.

🚨 Security deposit (dépôt de garantie) above the legal limits

• Unfurnished: 1 month's rent excluding service charges, maximum.
• Furnished: 2 months' rent excluding service charges, maximum.
• Mobility: no security deposit.
• If rent is paid in advance for more than 2 months: no security deposit can be required (unless you later request to pay monthly).

The amount cannot be increased during the lease or at renewal. At the end of the lease, it must be returned no later than 1 month after the keys are handed over if the condition report (état des lieux) at move-out matches the one at move-in, or 2 months otherwise (with deductions justified by documents). Security deposit not returned? Service-Public offers a template letter to request repayment (link at the bottom of the page).

Step 6 — Official resources

• 📜 Residential lease: what are the differences between unfurnished and furnished rentals? (Service-Public) — comparison of the 3 types of lease (bail).
• 🧳 What are the rules for a mobility lease? (Service-Public) — duration, eligibility, early termination.
• 💰 Security deposit (dépôt de garantie) in a rental lease (Service-Public) — limits and repayment.
• 📄 Residential lease: documents provided by the landlord (bailleur) (Service-Public) — the documents to be given to you.
• ✍️ Drafting a rental lease (contrat de location) (Service-Public) — mandatory information and prohibited clauses.
• 📈 Rent increase and revision during a rental lease (Service-Public) — IRL and F or G rated homes.
• 👥 Flat-sharing: what are the rules? (Service-Public) — joint liability clause (clause de solidarité).
• ⚖️ Law n° 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (Legifrance) — full text of the law.

And what about Pionra?

Pionra does not write your lease (bail). It's the place where newcomers share information: how it really went, in which city, and how long it took.

Have you just completed this process? Share your experience in a comment or in a note — that's what will help those who come after you the most.