In Paris, a good listing gets dozens of applications within hours. The landlord doesn't read everything: they open the dossiers that look complete and set the others aside. Before any cover letter, before the guarantor, what matters is simple: having exactly the right documents, readable, in the right format.
The good news: this list isn't up to each landlord. It's set by decree (décret n° 2015-1437), and it applies to furnished and unfurnished rentals alike.
The documents a landlord can ask for
The landlord can require one document per category for identity and address, and one or more for your professional situation and income.
1. An ID with a photo. ID card, passport, driving licence or residence permit, French or foreign.
2. Proof of your current address. Your last three rent receipts (or a certificate from your current landlord), a hosting certificate if you live with someone, or your last property tax notice if you own your home.
3. Proof of your professional situation. Employment contract or employer certificate, internship agreement, student card or enrolment certificate, a K or K bis extract under three months old if you're self-employed.
4. Proof of income. Your last three payslips, your last tax notice, your last two balance sheets if you're self-employed, a scholarship notice, a housing benefit simulation (CAF).
Foreign documents are accepted, but translated into French, with amounts converted into euros. The landlord may ask to see the original.
The documents a landlord can't ask for
The list above is exhaustive: anything not on it is forbidden. The most common illegal requests:
- bank statements, or a certificate of good account standing;
- an ID photo on top of the one on your ID;
- your social security card (carte Vitale);
- a criminal record extract;
- a marriage contract, a divorce judgment, a cohabitation certificate;
- a certificate of no outstanding loans, a direct debit authorisation;
- a reservation cheque or a transfer "to hold the flat";
- medical records.
A landlord who requires a forbidden document faces an administrative fine of up to €3,000 (€15,000 for a company). In practice, stay polite: reply that the legal list doesn't include that document and offer the equivalent allowed one. A request for money before the lease is signed, however, is a scam signal: don't send anything.
The guarantor: which documents?
An individual guarantor provides the same categories as you: identity, address, professional situation, income. With Visale, Action Logement's free guarantee, it's simpler: the landlord can only ask for your Visale visa, nothing else about the guarantor.
A dossier that reads in thirty seconds
A complete dossier isn't enough if it's painful to open. What makes the difference:
One place, not fifteen attachments. A landlord who gets an email with twelve files named "scan_003.pdf" won't open them all. DossierFacile, the French government service, checks your documents and gathers them behind a single link: it's the best foundation.
A summary before the documents. Your situation in one line ("Permanent contract since March 2024"), your net income, your guarantor, your move-in date. The landlord should understand your dossier before opening a single document.
The right ratio. The most common rule: a net income of about three times the rent. Below that, a solid guarantor or Visale often makes up for it.
Clean files. PDFs rather than photos, pages the right way up, clear file names, nothing redacted to the point of being unreadable.
With your documents ready, the message that goes with them matters just as much. And before you send them, rule out fraudulent listings.
