Rental management : your French property, handled without you

Choosing the right tenant

Tenant selection determines everything that follows. A file that looks flawless on paper can conceal an unstable situation, while an unconventional profile, properly assessed, can prove excellent over ten years.

We verify documents and check they are genuine — forged payslips circulate widely — and we meet applicants in person. That groundwork cannot be replaced by a credit-scoring algorithm.

One point that surprises British landlords: French law gives tenants considerably stronger protection than in England and Wales. There is no equivalent of a Section 21 no-fault notice. Recovering possession from a defaulting tenant takes time and follows a strict procedure, and eviction is suspended during the trêve hivernale, the winter truce running from 1 November to 31 March. This is precisely why selection matters so much.

The tenancy agreement and the inventory

We draw up a compliant lease with all statutory annexes: surveys, the tenant information notice, and a detailed inventory of condition.

The état des lieux — the check-in and check-out inventory — deserves particular attention. It is contradictory, meaning both parties sign it, and it is the single document that decides whether deductions from the deposit can be justified at the end. A rushed inventory almost guarantees a dispute.

The standard unfurnished tenancy runs for three years and renews automatically; a furnished tenancy runs for one year. These are considerably longer commitments than a UK assured shorthold tenancy, and the notice periods for a landlord are correspondingly strict.

Month-to-month management and French tax

We maintain the tenant's account: rent demands, collection and receipts. You are paid by bank transfer, monthly or quarterly as you prefer, with a clear statement.

Arrears are chased from the first missed payment. Experience shows an arrear addressed within a fortnight is usually recovered; one left for three months rarely is.

We check and settle the service charge calls from the syndic, recover the recoverable portion from the tenant — including the household waste tax — and apply rent reviews within the legal limits, which many owners simply forget to do year after year.

We also prepare your French rental income return. Our management fees are themselves deductible from that income, which reduces their real cost. Note that as a non-resident you remain taxable in France on French rental income; the UK–France double taxation treaty then determines how it is treated at home. We are not tax advisers and will tell you when a specialist is needed.