To protect tenants from excesses that may occur in the private rental market, particularly in areas where tension is high, several rent control systems have been put in place over time. Be careful not to confuse them. In practice, two types of mechanisms coexist: those which cap the rents themselves, and those which cap their revaluation.
The possibilities for an owner to increase the price of their housing are very limited. Since 2008, the lessor has the right to do so on each anniversary date of the lease, but the increase must not exceed a rate communicated each quarter by INSEE: the evolution of the rent reference index (IRL).
The calculation of this IRL is in principle based on inflation. However, since mid-2022, the government has capped the rate of change in rents at 3.5%. This “shield” must end in July.
The IRL governs rents in the private rental market, furnished or not, throughout France. But the constraint weighs a little more in tense areas. In large cities, where the supply is not enough to meet the demand for housing, the landlord cannot increase his rent when he changes tenant, except in certain cases – for example if he has not applied the annual revaluation to which he could claim during the twelve months preceding the change of tenant and that housing is not an energy sieve. In this case, the increase in the rent cannot, again, exceed the change in the IRL.
A ceiling amount set by the prefect
To this measure was added, from 2018, another form of capping: the control of the level of rents. This time, the device is optional. It is only practiced by towns or local authorities having obtained authorization from the government to experiment with it.
Once the decree has been published, the prefect can set a ceiling amount per square meter, calculated from the median prices observed locally. It depends on the number of rooms in the home, the construction period and its location. For a furnished rental, the maximum rent is increased, for example by 12% in Paris, by 6% in Lille.
Owners, you can only exceed this maximum on the condition that the accommodation benefits from particular advantages, such as an extraordinary view, a terrace, or even a level of equipment which strongly distinguishes it from other properties of the same type. The elements justifying this additional rent must be detailed in the lease.
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