French Bail (Lease Contract): Complete Legal Guide for Tenants and Landlords

French law distinguishes several types of residential leases, each with different rules:

• Bail de location nue (unfurnished): 3-year minimum term (6 years if the landlord is a legal entity). Governed by Loi n°89-462 du 6 juillet 1989, Articles 3–8.

• Bail de location meublée (furnished): 1-year minimum term (9 months for students). Must meet the 11 minimum furniture items defined by Décret n°2015-981 du 31 juillet 2015.

• Bail mobilité (mobility lease): 1–10 months, non-renewable. Reserved for tenants in professional training, studies, apprenticeship, internship, voluntary service, or temporary professional transfer. Created by Loi ELAN (2018).

• Bail étudiant: 9-month furnished lease for students, non-renewable by tacit reconduction.

• Colocation (shared tenancy): Can use either a single joint lease (bail unique solidaire) or individual leases per room.

The lease type determines your notice period, renewal rules, and deposit limits.

Under Article 3 of the Loi du 6 juillet 1989 (as amended by Loi ALUR), every bail must include:

• Identity of the parties: Full names, addresses, and contact details of landlord(s) and tenant(s)

• Property description: Address, type (apartment/house), number of rooms, living area (surface habitable in m², measured per Loi Boutin), floor level, and annexes (parking, cellar)

• Designated use: Habitation (residential) only, or mixte (residential + professional)

• Rent amount: Base rent (loyer), charges (provision pour charges), and payment terms (monthly, quarterly)

• Deposit amount: Maximum 1 month's rent excluding charges for unfurnished; 2 months for furnished. No deposit for bail mobilité.

• Duration and start date: Lease term and effective date of occupancy

• Means of payment: Bank transfer, cheque, or other accepted methods

• Encadrement des loyers: If the property is in a rent control zone (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Bordeaux, etc.), the lease must state the reference rent (loyer de référence), the increased reference rent (loyer de référence majoré), and any complément de loyer

Missing any mandatory clause makes the lease voidable — a court can nullify it if challenged. AdminLanding's bail generator builds every required clause in order, with the Loi 1989 references attached, so the lease is compliant at signature rather than retroactively patched.

The bail is not complete without the dossier de diagnostics techniques (DDT), which must be annexed:

• DPE (Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique): Energy class A–G. Since 1 January 2025, properties rated G are banned from new leases. F-rated properties are banned from 2028, E from 2034.

• CREP (Constat de Risque d'Exposition au Plomb): Lead exposure risk — mandatory for buildings built before 1 January 1949

• État des risques (ERNMT/ERP): Natural, mining, and technological risks for the property location

• Diagnostic électricité et gaz: If the electrical or gas installation is over 15 years old

• Surface habitable: Measured per Loi Boutin — if the actual surface is more than 5% less than stated, the tenant can request a proportional rent reduction

• État des lieux d'entrée: The move-in inspection report (must be done contradictorily between landlord and tenant at key handover)

• Notice d'information: A standardised information notice for the tenant (Arrêté du 29 mai 2015)

Failure to provide the DDT exposes the landlord to liability for hidden defects (vices cachés). Landlords should also be aware of evolving DPE energy rating requirements for rental properties in 2026.

In rent-controlled areas, the bail must comply with strict pricing rules:

How it works:

• The préfecture publishes annual reference rents (loyers de référence) per m², by neighbourhood, property type, number of rooms, construction period, and furnished/unfurnished status

• Your rent cannot exceed the loyer de référence majoré (reference rent + 20%)

• If your property has exceptional features (terrace, view, high-end fittings), the landlord may add a complément de loyer — but the tenant can challenge it within 3 months

Currently active zones (2026):

• Paris (since 2019), Lyon (since 2021), Lille (since 2020), Montpellier (since 2022), Bordeaux (since 2022), and expanding to other cities

• Check the specific reference rents on the DRIHL or ADIL website for your area

Penalties: Landlords who charge above the reference rent can be ordered to reimburse excess rent and face fines up to €5,000 (individuals) or €15,000 (legal entities).

Dépôt de garantie (security deposit):

• Unfurnished: maximum 1 month of base rent (excluding charges)

• Furnished: maximum 2 months of base rent (excluding charges)

• Bail mobilité: no deposit allowed (but the landlord can request a Visale guarantee)

• Must be returned within 1 month (if état des lieux de sortie matches entry) or 2 months (if discrepancies) after departure

• Late return incurs a 10% penalty per month of delay (Article 22 Loi 1989)

Charges récupérables:

• Defined exhaustively by Décret n°87-713 du 26 août 1987

• Include: water, building maintenance, elevator, green spaces, bin collection, shared lighting

• Do NOT include: major repairs (ravalement, toiture), management fees, property tax

• Regularised annually — landlord must provide a décompte de charges

What the landlord cannot charge:

• Agency fees beyond the legal cap (€12/m² for état des lieux, €8–15/m² for other services depending on zone)

• Frais de quittance — rent receipts must be free. See our quittance de loyer guide

Tenant notice (congé du locataire):

• Unfurnished: 3 months notice (reduced to 1 month in rent control zones, or for job transfer, job loss, health reasons, RSA/AAH beneficiaries, or first employment)

• Furnished: 1 month notice

• Bail mobilité: 1 month notice

• Must be sent by lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception, huissier, or hand-delivered against signature

Landlord notice (congé du bailleur):

• Unfurnished: 6 months before lease expiry, for one of 3 legal reasons only: (1) reprise pour habiter (personal or family use), (2) vente du logement (sale), (3) motif légitime et sérieux (serious breach by tenant)

• Furnished: 3 months before lease expiry

• Must include the legal reason and, if applicable, the identity of the person who will occupy

• Must be accompanied by a notice d'information about the tenant's rights

The landlord CANNOT terminate mid-lease unless for serious breach (non-payment, nuisance). Even then, it requires a court procedure.

Managing a French rental property involves a constant flow of documents: bail, état des lieux, quittances de loyer, avis d'échéance, lettres de relance, attestations d'assurance.

The AdminLanding rental tools (first property free, then the AdminLanding membership at €6 a month or €59 a year, renewed automatically, cancel any time) handle the entire document lifecycle:

• Generate legally compliant bail contracts — unfurnished, furnished, or mobilité — pre-filled with your property and tenant data

• Produce quittances de loyer automatically each month

• Create état des lieux (entry and exit inspection reports) with a structured checklist

• Track deposits and calculate return amounts with deductions

• E-signature support for remote signing

• Bilingual documents (FR/EN) — ideal for expat tenants or landlords managing from abroad

• Short-term / meublé de tourisme — register stays, per-stay guest invoices and taxe de séjour alongside long-term leases (23 documents in all)

• Document Finder — unsure which document a situation needs (bail, avenant, congé, relance, régularisation des charges)? it walks you to the right one

• Per-property compliance check — DPE letting-ban status, mandatory diagnostics, SIRET/LMNP, short-term registration and taxe de séjour, with email reminders; also free and account-free at adminlanding.com/french-rental-compliance

Pricing: first property free with 10 documents included; beyond that, AdminLanding membership: €6 a month or €59 a year, renewed automatically, cancel any time from your account — up to 10 properties, tenant portal included.

Landlords managing properties from abroad or on the go can also use Rent — Lease & Short-Term, the native mobile app that handles quittances, bail contracts, états des lieux, and deposit tracking from your phone — with a dedicated tenant portal so tenants receive documents, request repairs, and submit move-out notices directly from their own app. Available on Google Play (Android) and the Apple App Store (iOS).