Viewing a home in France

Book the appointment by phone or via the site and confirm it by message, and check the address on the map and the time to your work or school and transport (metro, buses and tram), shops and safety.

• Read the advert and note what is missing: is the rent charges included?
• What is the energy rating?
• Which floor?
• Is there a lift?
• Prepare a list of questions and a checklist, and bring your file digitally and on paper (copies) to submit at once if you like the home.
• And bring your phone to photograph rooms, meters and defects, and a tape or an app to measure furniture.
• And tell a friend where the visit is, and it is preferable to go with someone.
• View in daylight and if possible in the evening to estimate noise and light.
• And verify that the host is really the landlord or an agency employee by asking for his professional card or asking about ownership.

Ask about: the exact monthly rent (hors charges and the charges), what the charges include (hot water, communal heating, lift maintenance, cleaning of entrances and a caretaker), the deposit amount, the contract length (three years for unfurnished and one year for furnished, or nine months for students), the availability date, whether the landlord allows animals, whether there is a syndic building manager, and who pays for internet.

• Ask about the previous tenant's energy bills (electricity and gas) and the type of heating (electric is dearer, individual gas, collective), and the age of the boiler.
• Check that the rent does not exceed the legal cap in encadrement des loyers cities.
• And ask: is the rent updated yearly by the IRL index?
• Are there agency fees requested from me? Is the area exposed to floods?
• And compare several homes before deciding.

Look for damp and mould on walls, ceilings and around windows, since they are common in old buildings and harm health.

• Run the taps and test water pressure and drainage, and switch on the lights, sockets and heater, and open windows and doors and check their locks and sound and thermal insulation (double glazing).
• Ask about the smoke detector (détecteur de fumée), which is compulsory and which the landlord must install.
• Inspect the kitchen, the bathroom and ventilation (VMC), the storage room (cave) and the balcony.
• Notice noise from neighbours and the street, insects, the building entrance, mailboxes, lighting and safety.
• And photograph every defect at once, since these photos protect you from an unfair deduction from your deposit.
• And ask about the repairs the landlord will carry out before handing over the keys and record them in writing.

The diagnostics file must be attached to the contract, and the most important is the DPE (Diagnostic de performance énergétique) rated from A (excellent) to G (very poor) showing energy consumption, carbon emissions and the estimated annual heating cost.

• The law has banned letting homes rated G since 1 January 2025, and it will cover F then E later, and freezes rent increases for F and G. And lead diagnostic (CREP) for buildings before 1949, asbestos for buildings before 1997, electricity and gas if installations exceed 15 years, and ERP on risks (flood and earthquakes) and noise.
• And these documents help you estimate the energy cost and safety.
• If the landlord does not provide them ask for them, and if the home is indécent you have the right to demand repair and a rent reduction.
• And for complaint use ADIL or the rights defender or the prefecture.

On receiving the keys an état des lieux d'entrée, the entry inventory, is carried out in your presence and the landlord's or the agency's, and every part is recorded in it: walls, floors, windows, appliances and meters.

• Then both parties sign and each takes a copy.
• Record every defect however small, and photograph it, and you have ten days (and two months for heating) after entry to record what was not mentioned via a registered letter.
• On exit an état des lieux de sortie is carried out and compared with the first to determine deductions from the deposit.
• And warning signs include: a landlord who refuses the visit or asks for money before it, or pressures you to decide at once, or requests illegal documents, or does not give the diagnostics, or refuses the written contract, or asks for cash.
• And speak to ADIL or the Fondation pour le logement before signing a suspicious contract.

What is the DPE?