Furnished rental in France: the landlord's mandatory documents, from lease signature to rent receipt (2026)

Renting out a furnished home without an agency is possible and increasingly common. But furnished is not a "light" rental: since the ALUR law, the furnished main-residence lease follows a standard contract set by decree, with mandatory annexes, and courts sanction omissions. This guide lists the documents to produce at each stage — before signature, at key handover, during the lease, at departure — for a private landlord. The rules cited are those of the ordinary regime; check local specifics (rent control, rental permit) with your town hall.

Before signature: the lease and its annexes

• The furnished lease compliant with the standard contract (decree of 29 May 2015): one-year renewable term (nine months non-renewable for a student), rent and charges, security deposit capped at two months' rent excluding charges, one month's notice for the tenant and three months for the landlord before expiry, limited grounds for landlord's notice (repossession, sale, legitimate and serious reason).
• The information notice on the rights and obligations of the parties, annexed to the lease: its absence is regularly raised.
• The technical diagnostic file: energy performance certificate, risk statement, lead exposure report for older homes, electricity and gas depending on installation age, and other applicable diagnostics. Mind the energy certificate: the most energy-hungry homes (class G) can no longer be let since 1 January 2025; class F follows in 2028.
• The co-ownership rules (extracts on use) if the home is in a condominium.

At key handover: what proves the state of the home

• The move-in inspection report, jointly signed, room by room, with meter readings and dated photos. Without it, the home is presumed handed over in good condition and you will be unable to withhold anything from the deposit.
• The furniture inventory: mandatory for furnished lets, it lists each item of furniture and equipment with its condition. The home must at least include the items on the list set by decree (bedding with duvet or blanket, shutters or curtains in bedrooms, hobs, oven or microwave, fridge with freezer compartment, crockery and utensils, table and seating, storage, lighting, cleaning equipment). An incomplete furnished let can be requalified as unfurnished, with rules far less favourable to the landlord.
• The deposit receipt and, where applicable, the guarantee deed signed by the guarantor with the required mentions.

During the lease: receipts, revision, adjustment

The rent receipt is owed free of charge to a tenant who asks for it; it may be sent by email with their agreement. It separates rent and charges. Annual rent revision is only possible if the lease provides for it, within the rent reference index, and in rent-control zones within the increased reference rent. Charges may be settled on actuals with annual adjustment, or as a flat fee in furnished lets, provided the flat fee is not manifestly disproportionate. Keep a template letter for each situation: revision, adjustment, unpaid-rent reminder, formal notice.

At departure: move-out inspection and deposit

The move-out inspection is compared line by line with the move-in one; only damage attributable to the tenant, beyond normal wear, may be withheld, with supporting evidence (quotes or invoices). The deposit is returned within one month if the move-out report matches the move-in one, within two months otherwise; in a condominium, a provisional retention is possible until the accounts are closed. Each day of delay costs the landlord a statutory penalty.

The mobility lease: the short variant

Created by the ELAN law, the mobility lease is for tenants in training, studies, internship, assignment or transfer: one to ten months, non-renewable, no security deposit, with the Visale guarantee possible. It requires the same annexes as the furnished lease and a mention of the reason justifying this lease. It is the right tool for a home let for a few months between two uses.

The Chipie Studio Landlord Rental Management Pack gathers the 15-clause furnished lease, the mobility lease, the inspection report, the furniture inventory, receipts and template letters, in DOCX, PDF and Markdown with [Indiquer …] zones. It replaces neither the official information notice nor the diagnostics, which you attach separately, and a special case (shared tenancy, letting to a family member, rent-control zone) deserves a professional's review.