The law of July 6, 1989 amended by the Alur law (law no. 2014-366 of March 24, 2014 for access to housing and renovated town planning) requires the use of a standard lease contract for residential use. The decree of May 29, 2015, taken for the application of articles 3, 8-1 and 25-7 of the law of July 6, 1989, specifies the scope of this obligation and defines a standard lease contract for the rental bare housing and another for the rental of furnished housing. The text is also supplemented by a notice relating to the respective obligations of each party, the content of which was set by an order of May 29, 2015. This system comes into force on August 1 , 2015 .
The use of standard contracts applies to rental contracts for premises for residential use or for mixed professional and residential use, and which constitute the principal residence of the lessee, with the exception in particular of:
- joint tenancies of furnished accommodation formalized by the conclusion of several contracts between the tenants and the lessor;
- rental accommodation subject to a personalized housing assistance agreement or assistance from the national housing agency;
- rental accommodation belonging to a low-cost housing organization that is not subject to a personalized housing assistance agreement.
In general, these standard contracts contain the clauses imposed by the legislation but leave the parties a certain leeway allowing them to complete the contract within the limits of the applicable rules.
In substance, the two standard contracts are broken down into eleven parts entitled as follows:
- Designation of parties
- Purpose of the contract : this section contains a description of the accommodation, the destination of the premises, if applicable, the designation of the premises and accessory equipment of the building for private use by the tenant, the list of premises, parts, equipment and accessories of the building for common use, the equipment for access to information and communication technologies.
- Effective date and duration of the contract
- Financial conditions : this part specifies in particular:
- the amount of the rent, if applicable, in tight areas, mention is made of the specific terms and conditions for setting it;
- recoverable charges;
- in the event of joint tenancy, subscription by the lessor to insurance on behalf of the joint tenants;
- the terms of payment of the rent;
- where applicable, exclusively when renewing a contract, the terms and conditions for reassessing a manifestly undervalued rent.
- Works : Mention is made, where applicable of the amount and nature of the work to improve or bring it into line with the characteristics of decency carried out since the end of the last rental contract or since the last renewal, of the increase in the rent during the lease following improvement work undertaken by the lessor or the acquisition of equipment and the reduction in rent during the lease following work undertaken by the tenant.
- Warranties
- Solidarity clause
- Cancellation clause
- Rental fees: article 5 of the law of July 6, 1989 must be reproduced in this section, which also specifies the details and distribution of the fees.
- Other special conditions
- Appendices : this last part mentions the documents attached to the contract. Are thus targeted:
- the extract from the regulations concerning the destination of the building, the enjoyment and use of the private and common parts, and specifying the share relating to the rented lot in each of the categories of charges
- the technical diagnostic file
- the information notice relating to the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords
- the inventory, an inventory and a detailed condition of the furniture
- where applicable, prior authorization for rental
- where applicable, references to the rents usually observed in the neighborhood for comparable dwellings.
Each party may require the other, at any time, to draw up a compliant contract. In the event of absence in the rental contract of any of the information relating to the living area, the reference rents and the last rent paid by the previous tenant, the tenant may, within a period of one month from the effective date of the rental contract, give formal notice to the lessor to include this information in the lease. In the absence of a response from the lessor within one month or in the event of refusal by the latter, the lessee may, within three months of the formal notice, seize the competent court in order to obtain the if applicable, the reduction of the rent.
