Legal Issues
Traditional, non-furnished rentals come under the law of 'the sixth of July 1989'. The whole property that is being rented, whether for domestic or professional purposes, as well as any gardens or garages, are covered by this law: whatever their date of construction. According to the law, the rental contract must be in written form, and must include all obligatory information.
The 'état des lieux', the inventory and report of the state of the property, must be done whenever a tenant begins or finishes renting the property. The security deposit is also obligatory. Since March 2008, the security deposit is fixed at one month's basic rent, that is, the rent without service charges.
Rentals where the property comes furnished and equipped, 'location en meublé', are not covered by the 1989 law, but by the principal of contractual freedom. This means that a written contract is not compulsory; it can be verbal, and its duration can be either very short or even unspecified.
Seasonal or holiday rentals are also included in the 'location en meublé' category. Several additional laws also govern the rental of this type of property however, with the aim of protecting tenants from disappointment, since there is no prior visit to a holiday rental and the information given in advertisements about the property is not always accurate.
When descriptions of holiday rental properties are inaccurate, the landlord may have to pay a fine. All rental properties offered on a seasonal basis are classed according to quality. Although the landlord decides the class of their property, this is done under the supervision of the departmental commission for tourism.
A written contract is compulsory, and this must include the price of the rent and the 'état des lieux', the inventory and report of the state of the property. This protects not only the tenant but equally the landlord, who is renting their own furnishings as well as their property.
Finally, the amount of rent is agreed on freely by the two parties involved. The principal of contractual liberty can be justified when the landlord is a private owner, but it can still be dangerous to only have an oral contract.
For more information, see:
