A tenant’s decision to terminate his or her rental agreement can be caused by a number of factors: a professional move, a desire to live in a more spacious apartment or, why not, to travel around the world on a whim. Whatever the reason, moving out of an apartment cannot be done just like that. Find in this article the method to follow to leave your apartment in the respect of the rules and of your landlord.
What type of contract is it?
Depending on the nature of the lease, the contract may end naturally without you having to do anything. In other cases, however, termination of the contract will systematically require action on your part.
The main residence lease
Representing the majority of rental contracts, the main residence lease as defined by the ALUR Law of March 24, 2014 runs for a period of one year with a tacit renewal when it expires. Thus, there is no official end date for the lease other than the one you decide. The notice period for this type of contract is one month, as specified in Law 89-462 of July 6, 1989. Please note that this deadline only applies to tense areas, of which Paris is one. In other cases, the deadline is three months. For more information, please see our article on rent control.
The student lease
The student lease is a simple extension of the main residence lease, except that it extends over 9 months instead of 12. Moreover, it is not renewed tacitly. It will therefore end on the date initially planned without you having to do anything. However, if you wish to leave the accommodation early, the notice to be given to the owner must be received by the latter at least one month before the end of the rental period.
The mobility lease
Intended for professionals who are on a mission for a defined period of time (the contract can last from 1 to 10 months), the mobility lease functions more or less like the student lease and can, like the previous leases, be terminated one month before its term.
The secondary residence lease
The secondary residence lease is aimed at people with greater flexibility and cannot exceed 12 months, at the end of which a renewal request must be made to extend it. Corresponding to the civil code lease, the rules are more flexible than for ALUR rentals. In fact, it is not always possible to leave the apartment as soon as you wish. We therefore recommend that you read your rental contract carefully to determine whether or not you can give notice of departure.
At My Apartment in Paris, almost all of our second home leases have a one month notice period to inform the owner of your future departure.
What is the procedure to follow in order to terminate your lease ?
You’ve read your lease again and decided to leave your apartment. It is now time to inform the landlord of your departure date. You have three choices:
- notification by a bailiff,
- hand delivery of the letter with the owner’s signature on a receipt,
- registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
In 99% of the cases, it is the latter that you will use.
Whatever the method of transmission used, the content of the notice letter must include a certain number of elements:
- the identity of the tenant,
- the identity of the owner,
- the address of the apartment,
- the start date of the contract,
- the desired end date,
- the mention of article 25-8 of the law 89-462 of July 6, 1989.
Sample letter of notice
Please find below a sample letter respecting the criteria mentioned above:
Please take into account that the date from which the one month deadline must be counted is the date of receipt by the addressee and not the date of writing the letter. We therefore recommend that you allow a few days for certainty.
Conclusion
As you may have noticed, the process of breaking the lease is relatively simple. A simple letter is all that is required and there is no need to state any reason for termination.
We hope this article has been helpful to you. If you have any questions regarding furnished rentals, please feel free to consult our FAQ or contact us.
