Rental application documents in France: what landlords can ask for, and what is banned

You're renting out a private home in France and preparing the list of documents to ask applicants for. Good news: you don't have to make it up, it's set by law. Less good news: anything that isn't on it is banned, and the mistake is costly.

This article covers the French rules, which apply to any landlord or letting agency renting out a home in France, whatever their own nationality. Here is the official list, what is banned, what to do with the files once you've chosen a tenant, and a message you can send as it is.

Who sets the list of documents you can request?

Decree no. 2015-1437 of 5 November 2015 (opens in a new tab) (in French) sets the list of supporting documents that may be requested from a rental applicant and from their guarantor. It applies to the landlord and to any agency acting on their behalf.

The reference page, easier to read than the decree, is the French administration's own: Future tenant of a private home: documents to give the landlord (opens in a new tab), on service-public.gouv.fr (in French). The lists below come from it. Check it before publishing your listing: these rules change.

For a French rental application, the documents fall into four categories: identity, address, employment status and income.

Which documents can you request from a rental applicant?

Identity: one document only, chosen by the applicant:

• French or foreign national identity card (with photo);
• French or foreign passport (with photo);
• French or foreign driving licence (with photo);
• temporary residence permit, resident card, or card for nationals of a European Union or European Economic Area member state.

Address: one document only, from:

• the last 3 rent receipts or, if necessary, a certificate from the previous landlord;
• a sworn statement from the person hosting the applicant;
• a certificate of address for administrative purposes (attestation d'élection de domicile);
• the latest property tax notice or the title deed of the applicant's main residence.

Employment status: one or more documents, from:

• employment or internship contract, or a certificate from the employer;
• an extract from the Trade and Companies Register (extrait K or K bis);
• a registration record from the National Business Register;
• a copy of the INSEE identification certificate;
• a copy of a professional card;
• any recent document proving professional activity;
• a student card or certificate of enrolment.

Income: one or more documents, from:

• the latest or second-to-latest income tax notice (or notice of non-taxation);
• the last 3 payslips;
• for self-employed people, the last 2 balance sheets or a certificate of income;
• proof of payment of benefits, pensions or social security allowances for the last 3 months;
• the title deed of a property or the latest property tax notice;
• proof of rental income, life annuities or investment income;
• a simulation certificate for housing benefit;
• proof of internship allowances;
• a scholarship award notice for a student.

For the guarantor, the list is similar but not identical (a guarantor that is a company, for example, provides other documents): see the same service-public.gouv.fr page (opens in a new tab), which details it.

Copy or original, French or another language?

The applicant may provide a copy. Service-public.gouv.fr specifies (our translation): "the landlord (or the letting agency) has the right to require the original to be shown. The copy must be written in or translated into French. The amounts shown on the copy must be converted into euros."

In practice: ask for digital copies, and keep sight of the original for the viewing or the signing if you have any doubt.

Which documents are you not allowed to request?

Anything that isn't on the list. The landlord "is prohibited from requiring any others", service-public.gouv.fr (opens in a new tab) points out.

Article 22-2 of the French law of 6 July 1989 (opens in a new tab) (in French) also names, in black and white, a series of banned documents. France's National Consumer Institute (opens in a new tab) (in French) gives the full list. Among them:

• an ID photo, other than the one on the identity document;
• the national health insurance card (carte Vitale);
• a bank or post office account statement;
• a certificate of good account management from a bank;
• a criminal record extract;
• a marriage contract, a divorce ruling (except certain parts), a certificate of cohabitation;
• a direct debit authorisation;
• a reservation cheque;
• a medical file.

The CNIL (opens in a new tab), France's data protection authority, also points out (in French) that a landlord cannot require "a copy of the family record book, the carte Vitale, bank statements".

What does a landlord who asks for too much risk?

A fine. According to service-public.gouv.fr (opens in a new tab), a landlord or agency that requests an unauthorised document "faces a fine of up to €3,000 (or €15,000 for a legal entity)".

A classic trap: an application form copied from a listing found online, with a line asking for "last 3 bank statements". Go through yours line by line against the list above.

How long should you keep applicants' files?

Not long. For the CNIL, in the context of renting, "supporting documents must be destroyed as soon as they are no longer useful for the decision to allocate the home", archiving remaining possible to meet legal obligations (CNIL (opens in a new tab), in French, our translation).

In practice: as soon as the lease is signed, delete the files of unsuccessful applicants, including attachments left in your inbox and photos received via messaging apps. And if an applicant sends you, unprompted, a document that isn't on the list, don't keep it.

What message should you send to applicants?

A message that clearly lists the documents for the rental application reduces incomplete submissions and protects you: you only ask for what is allowed. Adapt it to your situation, and check it one last time against the official list (opens in a new tab):

Hello [First name],

Thank you for your interest in the property at [address]. To review your application, please send me the following by [day and date]:

1. One identity document (ID card, passport, driving licence or residence permit)
2. One proof of address (for example your last 3 rent receipts)
3. One proof of employment status (for example your employment contract)
4. Proof of income (for example your latest tax notice and your last 3 payslips)

And, if you have a guarantor, the same categories of documents for them.

Copies are fine, as a PDF or a readable photo. If one of these documents doesn't fit your situation (student, self-employed, retired), let me know and I'll tell you the equivalent.

The files of unsuccessful applicants will be deleted as soon as the lease is signed.

Kind regards,
[Your name]

And for applicants, how can they protect their documents?

Two French public services are worth knowing about, and worth mentioning in your listing. DossierFacile (opens in a new tab), described as "the State's digital rental file", lets applicants put their file together and share it via a link. FiligraneFacile (opens in a new tab), offered by the French State, "makes it easy to add a personalised digital watermark to protect sensitive documents before sending them", explains the CNIL (opens in a new tab) (both services and the CNIL page are in French).

A landlord who accepts these formats receives files already sorted by category, and shows that they take applicants' privacy seriously. To follow up with an applicant whose file is incomplete, you'll find messages ready to copy in our reminder email templates.

If you manage several applicants or several properties, Please Send It sends each one their own upload link with your list of documents, follows up with those whose file is incomplete, and files everything by applicant.