When you first rent in France, you will encounter three types of contracts (bail): unfurnished (vide), furnished (meublé), and mobility lease (bail mobilité). Before signing, check these items against the official original text.

• Lease term: unfurnished minimum 3 years (when landlord is an individual), renewable; furnished minimum 1 year, 9 months for students; bail mobilité 1 to 10 months, non-renewable, duration can be changed once via supplementary agreement (avenant), total still cannot exceed 10 months. Only university students, apprentices, interns, vocational training participants, civic service members, those with job transfers, or those with temporary work assignments can sign mobilité.
• Deposit limit: unfurnished maximum 1 month, furnished maximum 2 months of rent, both calculated by rent excluding incidentals; mobilité no deposits allowed.
• Notice of vacancy (congé): unfurnished 3 months in advance, can be shortened to 1 month in some cases; furnished and mobilité both 1 month in advance.
• Rent increase: can be adjusted once per year only if adjustment clause is written in the contract; bail mobilité rent increases are prohibited during the lease term.

The contract must be in writing, and must be signed by all parties involved. The landlord must attach these documents to the contract: information notice (notice d'information), move-in condition report (état des lieux) made when receiving keys, proof of mandatory rental insurance that you must purchase, technical diagnostic report (dossier de diagnostic technique, including DPE energy diagnosis); furnished rentals must also include a furniture inventory. Monthly rent receipt (quittance)—when you ask for it, the landlord must provide it for free. Except for rent, deposit, and agency fee, it is illegal to force you to pay any other money in order to sign the contract.

Experience: Before signing, take photos of each page of the contract for archival, which will be useful when vacating and recovering your deposit. Experience: notice d'information clarifies the obligations of the landlord and you, worth reading through before signing.

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