Renting a furnished apartment

Increasingly sought after by a large number of prospective tenants, furnished housing is very popular because it responds to a desire to simplify the tedious steps to face during a move.

This form of rental is much more convenient than empty rental.

More and more often, landlords are making offers of renting already furnished housing, including a set of essential furniture effects for the tenant’s everyday life.

The law did not bother to draw up a precise list of the personal property that must be furnished in order for it to be described as “furnished”. On the other hand, it appears through the case law that a furnished dwelling must at least contain certain furniture: a bed, blankets, a table, chairs, storage spaces, a kitchen, and possibly other furniture such as kitchen utensils, a refrigerator, a hot plate, a gas stove, …

The rental conditions of a furnished dwelling:

The tenant must sign a lease agreement, and the lessor must provide him with a furnished and decent dwelling.

On the taker’s side, he commits for a relatively short term, which is at least 1 year. However, some categories of people, such as students, benefit from an even shorter commitment period (usually the school year).

There are, as with any type of rental, some drawbacks to renting in furnished:

• For the lessor: First, it is necessary to offer the potential buyer a lease of at least one year. If it is a student, it cannot offer a lease of less than 9 months. These restrictions are tempered, however, by the fact that the minimum term of the lease imposed on the lessor is relatively short, compared to that required for an empty tenancy.

• It must also notify the lessor of 3 months’ notice before the expiry of the lease in the event that he wishes to change certain conditions of the lease. The law assumes that the lessor cannot pre-assume that the tenant will refuse to comply with these new conditions. He can therefore only “kick him out” on the condition that he has notified him of his new conditions and provided that the taker has refused to comply.
• Finally, it must furnish and equip the dwelling, but it is interesting nonetheless since the furnished rental can reach rent prices that usually exceed those of the empty rental.
• For the tenant: The main drawback of the furnished rental is the relative precariousness of the accommodation because the lease is concluded for a term that cannot be less than 1 year, or 9 months for a student. This implies that the lessor is never required beyond the year of the lease, except for him to expressly or tacitly renew the contract. On the other hand, if the lessor notified the underwriter that the terms of the lease were changed, the lessor would have no choice but to consent or leave. Under no circumstances will the tenant be entitled to a right to remain in the premises or a renewal of the lease in the event that he refuses the new conditions imposed by the lessor.

The lease of a furnished dwelling

The rental in furnished is the subject of a special regulation. Until 2014, it was not subject to regulations on residential leases of dwellings used as principal residences. It corresponds to a very specific lease regime. Recently, Law 89-462 of July 6, 1989, underwent two major legislative changes: Law No. 2014-366 and Law 2015-990. The furnished housing lease is now part of the residential lease regulations.

On the landlord’s side

With regard to the rental of a furnished dwelling, the landlord must submit to the tenant a lease agreement. This was enacted by the Social Cohesion Measures Act 2005. From now on, it is no longer accepted that the furnished lease is short-lived, the need for a contract is superfluous. This lease agreement must be written in two original copies. The lessor must mention, with the agreement of the lesse, the terms and conditions of the lease contracted. In particular, the lessor must include mandatory documents such as technical diagnostics (energy performance, natural hazards, electrical diagnosis, etc.). The furnished housing lease must include the duration of the contract. It is generally accepted that this type of real estate lease is tacitly renewed unless the lessor changes the terms of the tenancy. In this case, he must inform the tenant 3 months before the expiry of the lease.

On the taker’s side

The tenant of a furnished dwelling must sign the two original copies of the lease, one of which is held by the lessor. This requirement is due to the fact that the lease is a synallagmatic contract, i.e. containing reciprocal commitments. The conclusion of the lease requires the purchaser to have a security deposit as well as a surety (usually solidarity). Once the lease agreement is signed, the tenant is required to pay the rents periodically, on fixed maturities. It benefits from an automatic renewal of the lease provided that the lessor does not show any contrary will. The latter may decide to take over his dwelling or simply to change the terms of renewal of the lease. In these cases, the tenant must notify the tenant of a notice containing the new terms of the lease, 3 months before the end of the lease.

The types of disputes involving furnished housing

The rental of a furnished dwelling must now be the subject, and in a systematic way, of a state of the premises of entry and exit. This new provision is contained in essence in the ALUR Act, which amended the Law on Residential Leases. Disputes may arise when the state of the exit is disputed by the taker.

Another type of dispute is that the tenant disputes the furnished nature of the dwelling, when he considers that the landlord has provided him with housing that is insufficiently equipped with furniture, or even a dwelling that does not meet sufficient conditions of decency.

Amicable appeal

In most disputes between landlord and tenant of furnished housing, it is always possible to try to resolve the dispute amicably. In the event that they are not able to dialogue serenely, they communicate by registered mail with AR. If they do not find a solution, they can refer the matter to the departmental conciliation committee. If these amicable measures fail, there is still the possibility of litigation.

Litigation

Many of these disputes fall within the jurisdiction of the district court of the place where the accommodation is located Attention, however, the time to refer the matter to the territorially competent district court varies depending on the type of litigation at stake. For example, remedies for disputes related to the lease agreement, home insurance, or unpaid rents must be filed within 3 years of the occurrence of that dispute. But for example, when it comes to rent review, the referral period is reduced to 1 year from the notification of a rent review.