Tenant rights in Paris: rent control, deposit, inspections and notice

For a lease signed or renewed in Paris since 1 July 2019, the basic rent excluding charges (loyer de base) must not exceed the increased reference rent (loyer de référence majoré). Reference rents are set each year by prefectoral order, usually applying from 1 July, according to the district, the number of rooms, the construction period and whether the home is furnished. The values that apply to your lease are those in force on the date it was signed or renewed.

• The lease must state the reference rent and the increased reference rent that apply.
• A rent supplement (complément de loyer) above the maximum is allowed only if the home has exceptional features of location or comfort compared with similar homes. Since August 2022 it is forbidden when the home has serious defects, for example toilets outside the flat, signs of damp, poor lighting or an energy rating of F or G.
• You can check your rent with the City of Paris tool on teleservices.paris.fr/encadrementdesloyers or the simulator on Service-Public.fr.

Important for 2026: the rent control experiment currently covers leases signed until 24 November 2026. A bill to extend or make it permanent was adopted by the National Assembly in December 2025 and was due in the Senate in October 2026, but as of 7 October 2026 no extension has entered into force. Check Service-Public.fr or ADIL 75 for the situation when you sign.

• Rent above the maximum: you can report it to the City of Paris through the online form on paris.fr. The City checks the case, and the Prefect can order the landlord to lower the rent and repay the excess, and impose a fine of up to €5,000 for an individual or €15,000 for a company. You can also go to the departmental conciliation commission (commission départementale de conciliation, CDC), which is free, or to the court.
• Rent supplement: you have three months from signing the lease to contest it before the conciliation commission. The landlord must then prove the exceptional features.
• Keep paying your rent while you contest it.

• During the lease: once a year at most, only if the lease has a revision clause, and capped by the rent reference index (IRL). The landlord must ask within one year of the revision date and cannot backdate it. For homes rated F or G, revision is banned.
• Between two tenants: Paris is a tight housing market (zone tendue). For a new lease signed between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027, the new rent generally cannot exceed the previous tenant's rent (plus the IRL if it was not revised in the last 12 months), except after major improvement works or if the previous rent was clearly undervalued. The cap from rent control applies on top.
• At renewal: an increase is only possible if the current rent is clearly undervalued, following a strict procedure, and it is forbidden for homes rated F or G.

• Maximum one month's rent excluding charges for an unfurnished home and two months for a furnished one; no deposit for a bail mobilité.
• It must be returned within one month after you hand back the keys if the move-out inspection matches the move-in inspection, or two months if it does not, minus amounts the landlord can justify (unpaid rent, repairs with invoices or quotes).
• In a co-owned building, the landlord may keep up to 20% until the building's annual accounts are approved, then must settle within one month.
• If the landlord is late, the amount owed increases by 10% of the monthly rent for each started month of delay, provided you gave your new address when you returned the keys.
• You cannot use the deposit to pay your last month's rent.

The état des lieux is done together, in person, when the keys are handed over and returned. It must describe each room, the equipment and the meter readings, and photos can be attached. If an agent does it, your share is capped at €3.03 per m² (2026). If you and the landlord cannot agree, a bailiff (commissaire de justice) can do it, with the cost split equally.

After the move-in inspection, you have ten days to ask in writing for corrections, and for heating, the first month of the heating season. If no inspection was done, you are presumed to have received the home in good condition. The agent may not charge you for the move-out inspection.

You pay for minor maintenance (réparations locatives); the landlord pays for everything else, including repairs due to age, defects or force majeure. The home must be decent: since 1 January 2025, homes rated G no longer qualify for new leases, F-rated homes will follow from 2028.

If something serious is not repaired, write to the landlord by registered letter, then contact the conciliation commission, ADIL 75 or the court. If works last more than 21 days, you can ask for a rent reduction in proportion to their duration. Keep paying rent in the meantime; stopping payment can put your lease at risk.

• Your notice: one month for a furnished lease. For an unfurnished lease, Paris is a tight zone, so the notice is one month if you mention this in your letter (three months otherwise). Send it by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by bailiff, or by hand against a signed receipt; email alone is not valid. The period starts on the day the landlord receives it.
• Landlord's notice: only at the end of the lease, to sell, to live there or for a serious and legitimate reason, at least six months before the end for unfurnished and three months for furnished homes. Older or low-income tenants have extra protection.
• Unpaid rent: for leases from 1 October 2026, the standard termination clause can only take effect after a payment demand has remained unpaid for six weeks. Contact your landlord, the CAF and ADIL 75 early if you have difficulties.

• ADIL 75 – free, neutral legal advice from housing lawyers, by phone, video or in person by appointment (adil75.org).
• Commission départementale de conciliation (CDC) de Paris – free conciliation between tenants and landlords on rent control, supplements, deposits, charges, repairs and decent housing.
• City of Paris – online form for rents above the legal maximum.
• Tenant associations – national associations have local branches in Paris; they usually charge a membership fee.