In principle, in a residential lease, the rent for a dwelling is freely determined by the owner.
However, in cities located in "tense areas," rents can be regulated by two complementary mechanisms at the time of renting. In these cities, the rent excluding utilities must not exceed a certain amount.
*Legally speaking, "tense areas" are urban areas with over 50,000 inhabitants where there is a significant imbalance between the supply and demand for housing, resulting in serious difficulties in accessing housing throughout the existing residential stock.
The list of municipalities included in tense areas is determined by decree. To find out if your municipality is located in a tense area, you can click here.
There are 2 types of rent control:
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For properties located in tense areas, at the time of changing tenants, the rent for a property cannot exceed the last rent applied, adjusted based on the evolution of the Housing Rent Index (IRL). Rent increases may be higher in certain cases, such as when the landlord undertakes specific improvement or compliance work or when the rent is manifestly undervalued. Furthermore, properties being rented for the first time, properties vacant for more than eighteen months, and properties that have undergone improvement work equal to at least one year's rent within the last six months are excluded from this scheme.
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For properties located in tense areas with a locally approved rent observatory, an additional rent control mechanism may apply. This mechanism relies on rent references set annually by the relevant prefects through an official order (minor rent reference, rent reference, and major rent reference), expressed as a price per square meter of living space. These reference rents depend on certain criteria, such as the type of accommodation (furnished or unfurnished), living space, geographic location, etc. In areas where the prefectural order is in effect (such as Paris, Lille, Hellemmes, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Montpellier, Bordeaux, and the municipalities of Plaine commune and Est Ensemble), the rent excluding utilities applied cannot exceed the major rent reference (which must be specified in the lease agreement). If the maximum allowed rent excluding utilities (major rent reference per square meter) is exceeded, a supplementary rent must be applied and justified in the lease.
For more information on the rules to be followed, click here.
The Supplementary Rent
The landlord can apply a supplementary rent if the property has specific characteristics such as location, comfort, etc., which are determinative in comparison to properties of the same category located in the same geographical area (e.g., a view of a historic monument, etc.).
Please note
For leases signed since August 18, 2022, supplementary rent is prohibited if the property has at least one of the following characteristics: shared bathrooms, signs of dampness on certain walls, an Energy Performance Certificate (DPE) rating of class F or G, windows that unreasonably allow air to pass through (excluding ventilation grilles), visibility within less than 10 meters, infiltrations or flooding from the outside, water drainage problems in the last 3 months, degraded electrical installations, poor exposure in the main room.
To determine your reference rent, we recommend using these simulators (if applicable, we advise you to check your city/county/region's website).
To know your reference rent we invite you to use these simulators, if necessary we recommend that you consult the website of your city/department/region.
- Paris
- Lille, Hellemes and Lomme
- Aubervilliers, La Courneuve, Épinay-sur-Seine, L'Île-Saint-Denis, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, Stains, Villetaneuse
- In Lyon and Villeurbanne
- Bagnolet, Bobigny, Bondy, Le Pré Saint-Gervais, Les Lilas, Montreuil, Noisy-le-Sec, Pantin, Romainville
- Amount of rent in Montpellier since July 1, 2022
- Amount of rent in Bordeaux since July 15, 2022
The owners are solely responsible for their respective obligations under the lease and applicable legislation.