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3rd September 2010
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Try it for sizeRenting in France is a sound option while you search for your dream homeUnless you know exactly what you’re looking for in a French property, and where, it’s best to rent a property for a period to reduce the risk of making a costly mistake, particularly when you’re planning to buy in an unfamiliar area.As when making all major financial decisions, give yourself time to think. This is even more important for those planning to set up a business in France, when it isn’t advisable to buy a home until you’re sure that your business will be a success. Renting long-term before buying is particularly prudent for anyone planning to live in France permanently. If possible, you should rent a similar property to the one you’re planning to buy, during the time(s) of year when you plan to occupy it. The advantages of renting include the following: * It allows you to become familiar with the weather, the amenities and the local people, to meet other foreigners who’ve made their homes in France and share their experiences, and to discover the cost of living for yourself. * It ‘buys’ you time to find your dream home at your leisure. * It saves tying up your capital and can be surprisingly inexpensive in many regions. You may even wish to consider renting a home in France long-term (or ‘permanently’). Some people let their family homes abroad and rent one in France for a period (you may even make a profit!). On the other hand, the disadvantages of renting should be taken into consideration, including the following: * Annual property price increases in most areas are higher than interest rates, which means that you may be better of tying up your money in a property than investing it while you rent. * Taking a long-term rental before buying means in effect moving house twice within a year or two; remember that moving is one of life’s most stressful experiences! * You may not find the type of rental property you want, which will colour your experience of living in a particular area and possibly in France generally. For example, most rental properties are apartments, and rural homes are rarely available for rent. If you’re looking for a rental property for a few months, you may need to rent a holiday apartment for a week or two to allow yourself time to find one that suits you. Long-term rentals If you’re looking for a home for less than a year, you’re usually better off looking for a furnished (meublé) apartment or house. However, most long-term rental properties are unfurnished (non-meublé), and long-term furnished properties are difficult to find, although tax incentives are encouraging owners to let furnished property long-term and a growing number of foreign owners who are unable to sell their French homes are letting them long-term, particularly outside the peak summer period. Note that in France, ‘unfurnished’ doesn’t just mean without furniture. An unfurnished property usually has no light fittings, curtain rods or even an outdoor TV aerial. There’s also no cooker, refrigerator or dishwasher and there may be no kitchen units, carpets or kitchen sink! Always ask before viewing, as you may save yourself a wasted trip. If the previous tenant has fitted items such as carpets and kitchen cupboards, he may ask you for a rebate (reprise) to leave them behind. You should negotiate the rebate and ensure that you receive value for money. A reprise isn’t enforceable, although if the tenant has the approval of the landlord it’s difficult to avoid paying it, even though it may amount to little more than a bribe. Short-term rentals France has an abundance of furnished, self-catering accommodation and the widest imaginable choice. You can choose from literally thousands of cottages (gîtes), apartments, villas, bungalows, mobile homes, chalets, and even châteaux and manor houses. However, most property is available for holiday lets (i.e. one or two weeks) only, particularly during the peak summer season, and, when the rental period includes the peak letting months of July and August, the rent can be prohibitive. Seasonal lets are sometimes available, but generally only in low season. Standards vary considerably, from dilapidated, ill-equipped cottages to luxury villas with every modern convenience. Many short-term lets are gîtes, which literally means a home or shelter but is nowadays used to refer to most furnished, self-catering holiday accommodation. A typical gîte is a small cottage or self-contained apartment with one or two bedrooms (sleeping four to eight and usually including a sofa bed in the living room), a large living room/kitchen with an open fire or stove, and a toilet and shower room. In certain parts of France, notably the overcrowded Côte d’Azur, gîtes may be concrete ‘rabbit hutches’, built to a basic standard with minimal facilities. Check whether a property is fully equipped (which should mean whatever you want it to mean!) and whether it has central heating if you’re planning to rent in winter. Finding a rental property Your success or failure in finding a suitable rental property depends on many factors, not least the type of rental you’re seeking (a one-bedroom apartment is easier to find than a four-bedroom detached house), how much you want to pay and the area. France has a strong rental market in most areas, although rural properties are rarely available for long-term rental. When looking for rented accommodation, try to avoid the months of September and October, when French people return from their summer holidays and (in university towns and cities) students are looking for accommodation. Ways of finding a property to rent include the following: * Visit accommodation and letting agents. Most cities and large towns have estate agents (agences immobilières) who also act as letting agents. Look under Agences de Location et de Propriétés in the yellow pages. It’s often better to deal with an agent than directly with owners, particularly with regard to contracts and legal matters. Builders and developers may also rent properties to potential buyers. * Contact travel agents and French Government Tourist Offices (who are agents for Gîtes de France), who may deal with short-term rentals. * Look in local newspapers and magazines, particularly expatriate publications, and foreign property publications (see Appendix B for a list). * Check newsletters published by churches, clubs and expatriate organisations, and their notice boards. * Look for advertisements in shop windows and on notice boards in shopping centres, supermarkets, universities and colleges, and company offices. * Search the Internet: useful sites include: www.appelimmo.fr www. avendrealouer.fr www.entreparticuliers.fr www.foncia.fr www.lacentrale.fr www.lesiteimmobilier.com www.pap.fr and : www.seloger.com. * Contact owners directly via the publications listed in Appendix B. Rental costs Rental costs vary considerably according to the size and quality of a property, its age and the facilities provided. Prices are calculated according to the number of rooms (pièces), excluding the kitchen, bathroom(s), toilet(s) and other ‘utility’ rooms, and the floor area (in square metres). A one-room apartment has a combined living and sleeping room (it may have a separate kitchen and bathroom) and is called a studio. A two-room (deux-pièces) apartment usually has one bedroom, a living room, kitchen and bathroom. A three-room (trois-pièces) apartment has two bedrooms, a four-room (quatre-pièces) apartment may have three bedrooms or two bedrooms and separate dining and living rooms, and so on. The average size of a two-room apartment is around 50m2 (500ft2). Rental prices are also based on the prevailing market value of a property (indice), and the most significant factor affecting rental prices is location: the region of France, the city and the neighbourhood. Like everywhere, rental prices in France are dictated by supply and demand and are higher in Cannes, Grenoble, Lyon and Nice than in Bordeaux, Marseille, Strasbourg and Toulouse, for example. Rental accommodation in Paris is in high demand and short supply, and the prices are among the highest in Europe and often double those in other French cities. In Paris, you should expect to pay at least €25 per m2; a tiny studio apartment of around 20m2 (215ft2) in a reasonable area costs around €500 per month, while a two or three-bedroom apartment (125m2/1,345ft2) in a fashionable arrondissement can cost up to ten times as much. The lowest prices are found in small towns and rural areas, though there is not so much choice. As a general rule, the further a property is from a large city or town (or town centre), public transport or other facilities, the cheaper it is. In the provinces you can rent a two-bedroom apartment or cottage for €300 or less per month. Houses can be rented in most rural areas and on the outskirts of some towns; for a three-bedroom house, you can expect to pay at least €500 per month – double that in parts of the Ile-de-France and the south-east, including the Alps. Rental prices are often open to negotiation and you may be able to secure a 5 to 10 per cent reduction if there isn’t a queue of customers behind you. For details of prices and availability of long-term lets in different regions, refer to The Best Places to Buy a Home in France (Survival Books). Rental prices for short-term lets, eg: less than a year, are higher than for longer lets, particularly in popular holiday areas. For short-term lets the cost is calculated on a weekly basis (Saturday to Saturday) and depends on the standard, location, number of beds and the facilities provided. The rent for a gîte sleeping six is typically from €250 to €350 per week in June and September, and €350 to €500 in July and August. The rent is higher for a gîte with a pool. However, when renting long-term outside the high season, you can rent a two-bedroom property for around €500 per month in most regions. Rental contracts A rental contract, whether for an unfurnished or a furnished property, must be signed by all parties involved, including the agent handling the contract, if applicable. Next to their signature each party must also write the words lu et approuvé (read and approved). A contract for a furnished property is called a contrat de location de locaux meublés, while a seasonal contract is an engagement de location meublée saisonnière. French rental laws (and protection for tenants) don’t extend to holiday lettings or sub-lettings, however. For holiday letting, the parties are free to agree such terms as they see fit concerning the period, rent, deposit and the number of occupants permitted, and there’s no legal obligation on the landlord to provide a written agreement. However, you should never rent a property without a written contract, which should be drawn up or checked by a notary for long-term rentals. This is important if you wish to get a deposit returned. Hotels French hotels are among the cheapest in the western world, including Parisian hotels, where you can still get an attractive double room for €60 to €75 per night. The same standard room in the country costs as little as €40, although rates vary according to the time of year, the location and the individual establishment. You may also be able to haggle over rates outside the high season and for long stays. Many hotels have rooms for three or four guests at reduced rates or provide extra beds for children in a double room free or for a small charge. A double room may contain one or two ‘double’ beds, although they may not be full-size double beds; often a room will have a double bed and one or two single beds. Budget hotel chains include the following: * Logis et Auberges de France, the world’s largest hotel consortium with over 3,000 privately run hotel/restaurants in the provinces (none in Paris) with prices ranging from €25 to €65 per night for a double room. Contact the Fédération Nationale des Logis et Auberges de France, 83 avenue d’Italie, 75013 Paris (( 01 45 84 83 84, : www.logis-de-france.fr) for further information. A Logis de France handbook is available from bookshops and FGTOs as well as via the Logis website. * Formule 1 hotels (08 92 68 56 85, www.hotelformule1.com), which are common on the outskirts of towns and cities (often close to motorways). From around €25 per night, up to three people can share a room. * Accor hotels (08 25 88 00 00, www.accorhotels.com), which are owned by the same company as Formule 1. * Etap hotels (08 92 68 89 00, www.etaphotel.com), also owned by the same company as Formule 1. * Ibis hotels (08 92 68 66 86, www.ibishotel.com), also owned by the same company as Formule 1. * Mister Bed (01 46 14 38 00, www.misterbed.fr), a chain of 23 hotels in central and north-east France. * Première Classe (08 25 00 30 03, or (01 64 62 46 46 from outside France, www.envergure.fr/pclassefr.html). An even cheaper option is a pension de famille, which is similar to a bed and breakfast but normally for periods of at least a month. Charges, excluding meals, range from around €150 to around €250 per month, which works out at just €5 to €8 per night. Meals can often be provided and are correspondingly good value. Pensions de famille, which used to provide accommodation for factory workers and others, are becoming increasingly rare but can be found through tourist offices and local tourist boards. An online guide to French hotels can be found at www.france-hotel-guide.com. Details of hotels and pensions can be obtained through the French Government Tourist Office (FGTO – also known as Maison de la France), which has offices in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US as well as in France (20 avenue de l’Opéra, 75041 Paris Cedex 01, (01 42 96 70 00). Details of all offices can be found on the FGTO website (www.franceguide.com/mieuxconnaitre/bureau.asp). Home exchange An alternative to renting is to exchange your home abroad with one in France. This way you can experience home living in France for a relatively small cost and may save yourself the expense of a long-term rental. Although there’s an element of risk involved in exchanging your home with another family, most agencies thoroughly vet clients and many have a track record of successful swaps. There are home exchange agencies in most countries. Those in the US include Home Exchange.Com (or HomeExchange.com Inc.), PO Box 787, Hermose Beach, CA90254 (310-798-3864, www.homeexchange.com) and HomeLink International (305-294 7766 or 800-638 3841, : www.homelink.org or www.swapnow.com), which has some 16,500 members in around 50 countries. HomeLink also has an office in the UK (7 St Nicholas Rise, Headbourne Worthy, Winchester SO23 7SY, (01962 8868822, www.homelink.org.uk), which publishes a Directory of homes and holiday homes for exchange. Other UK-based exhange agencies are Home Base Holidays, 7 Park Avenue, London N13 5PG, UK (020-8886 8752, www.homebase-hols.com) and Intervac Home Exchange, 24 The Causeway, Chippenham, Wilts SN15 3DB (UK 01249 461101, www.intervac.com), which has representatives in some 30 countries. Green Theme International is a British agency based in France, at 9 rue des Insurgés, La Maillerie Ouest, 87130 Linards (05 55 08 47 04, www.gti-home-exchange.com). Taken from Buying a Home in France by Survival Books . The 2005 edition of this book is available from the French Entrée bookshop Property Buyer`s Guide Home Page 
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