In a decree dated 29 May 2015, the Ministry of Housing has made the Alur Act applicable insofar as it provided for a standard lease agreement for furnished and unfurnished tenancies and shared tenancies with a single lease.
Published in the Journal Officiel on 31 May, the decree aims to simplify and secure the contractual relationship between landlords and tenants. The aim of this "standardised" contract is to establish a reference framework.
While retaining the old mandatory clauses, the Alur Act's standard contract requires new clauses to be included. These include
- the amount of the last rent paid by the previous tenant, if he left the premises less than 18 months before signing the new lease;
- in areas where rent controls apply, the method used to set the rent, including the benchmark rent, the increased benchmark rent for the category of property, and any rent supplement;
- the amount and description of any work carried out since the departure of the previous tenant;
- the arrangements for recovering charges;
- a list of IT access facilities (internet, television, etc.);
- the fees payable to tenants by property professionals.
Apart from the provisions of public policy, which cannot be derogated from, the parties retain the option of adapting the lease contract to any particularities specific to their situation.
This standard contract will come into force on 1 August 2015 and will apply to furnished and unfurnished leases, as well as to shared tenancies with a single lease, entered into on or after the same date. In addition, an information leaflet will have to be attached to the tenancy agreement. The purpose of this document is to inform the parties of their respective rights and obligations.
More decrees to come!
The decree introducing the standard lease is only the first in a long series. Other provisions of the Alur law are still awaiting their decree before they can be applied. These include the technical safety diagnoses to be submitted, the procedures for drawing up the inventory of fixtures, the list of documents to be produced by the tenant and the minimum furniture to be made available to the tenant if the property is to be rented furnished.
It should be noted that the decree does not apply to shared tenancies with multiple leases or to social housing leases. These too are still awaiting further legislation.
