Rent control
In the 1149 French communes located in the 28 main metropolitan areas of the tense zone, forget the freedom to set rents upon re-letting for properties rented as a primary residence.
Read, reread, read again... Have you come to terms with it? We'll explain what comes next.
Which accommodations are concerned? 📝
The principle of controlled rent 🖼️
If you do not raise exceptions, which has, let's say, a high chance of happening, you are constrained in setting the rent of your rental investment. Reactivated by the ELAN law in 2018, rent controls are being adopted by more and more municipalities:
Paris in 2019;
Lille and its neighboring municipalities Hellemmes and Lomme in 2020;
Plaine commune: Aubervilliers, Epinay-sur-Seine, L’Île-Saint-Denis, la Courneuve, Pierrefitte, Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, Stains and Villetaneuse and Lyon in 2021;
Bordeaux and Montpellier could follow in 2022.
In all these locations, the rent at re-rental is capped at a per square meter amount called increased reference value and calculated by the rental observatory of the concerned agglomerations. To retrieve the figures, it's here:
If your housing is affected, the only way to exceed the increased reference value is to rely on an exceptional rent supplement.
The exceptional rent supplement 💎
As its name indicates, it is justified by the presence of one or more exceptional “pluses” offered by the accommodation compared to its competitors, with comparable area and location.
Here are some undeniable cases :
garden or terrace;
parking;
exceptional view;
very high ceilings (beyond 3.3 m);
luxurious amenities like jacuzzi, sauna.
Warning: The component of the application of the device must not be found in the rental charges. The presence of a garden or a swimming pool that a residence would have common enjoyment of, for example, cannot fall within the scope of the exceptional supplement.
A transparent lease regarding rent control 👓
Since 2014, the mandatory lease model includes the median reference values (20% lower than the increased reference value) and the increased value.
The tenant therefore knows very precisely what the situation is and whether they owe an exceptional rent supplement or not.
In this regard, two breaches can lead to a dispute:
a rent exceeding the increased reference value without apparent reason;
the application of an unjustified exceptional rent supplement.
Deterrent sanctions ⛔
In case of a dispute by the tenant or severe administrative sanction by a local representative of the State, the negligent owner incurs:
fines of up to 5000 euros for an individual, 15000 euros for a legal entity;
the obligation to restore a rent compliant with the ELAN law.
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