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Decent housing
Verified 01 January 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The landlord must provide the tenant with decent accommodation. Decent housing meets 5 criteria: minimum surface area, no risk to the safety and health of the tenant, no pests and pests, minimum energy performance, the availability of certain equipment. If the accommodation is not decent, the tenant has recourse.
What applies to you ?
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Empty Housing
A rental accommodation must have a minimum surface area. The minimum area differs depending on whether the accommodation is rented or colocation.
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Rental accommodation
A rental unit must respect a minimum surface area. This is one of housing decency.
The accommodation shall have at least one main room having:
- Either one habitable surface at least 9 m² and a ceiling height of at least 2,20 m
- Either one habitable volume not less than 20 m³
Warning
departmental health regulations may impose more restrictive conditions.
Shared housing
The rule varies depending on whether there is a single lease or whether each roommate has signed a lease.
Single Lease
A rental unit must respect a minimum surface area. This is one of housing decency.
The accommodation must have a minimum surface of 16 m² for 2 roommates. For each additional roommate, an additional 9 m² is required.
Warning
departmental health regulations may impose more restrictive conditions.
Each roommate signs a lease
Each lease must specify the room of which each roommate has the private use and the common areas made available to all roommates (kitchen, bathroom, living room...)
Each roommate must have a room with a surface of at least 9 m2 and with a volume not less than 20 m3 (common rooms not included).
Please note
the decent housing is evaluated taking into account all the elements, equipment and rooms of the accommodation (and not the only room of which the tenant has the private use).
The accommodation must comply with the following conditions:
- Accommodation provides closed and covered.
The main work of the accommodation and its access is in good condition of maintenance and solidity and protects the premises against runoff and upwelling. The exterior carpentry and the cover with its fittings and accessories provide protection against water infiltration in the dwelling. - The accommodation is protected from air leakage.
The doors and windows of the accommodation are sufficiently air-tight.
The walls and walls of the accommodation facing the outside or unheated spaces are sufficiently air-tight.
The openings of the rooms overlooking unheated outbuildings are equipped with doors or windows.
The fireplaces are equipped with traps. - Restraints for persons (window guards, staircases, loggias and balconies) located in the accommodation and in its accesses are in a state in accordance with their use.
- The nature, state of conservation and maintenance of building materials, pipes and linings in the dwelling do not present any obvious risks to the health and physical safety of the tenants.
- Electricity and gas networks and connections comply with safety standards and are in good working order.
- Heating and hot water production equipment complies with safety standards and is in good condition for use and operation.
- The accommodation allows sufficient ventilation.
The opening and any ventilation devices in the accommodation are in good condition. In addition, they allow for the air to be renewed and the humidity to be evacuated, adapted to the needs of a normal housing occupation and the operation of the equipment. - The main rooms (intended for sleeping or staying) have sufficient natural light and a window opening giving the air free, or a glass volume giving the air free.
FYI
a room in the basement cannot be offered for rent.
Decent housing is housing that is not infested by pests (e.g. rats) or parasites (e.g. bed chips, cockroaches).
The accommodation shall include the following amenities and comforts:
- An installation enabling normal heating
It shall be fitted with the power supply and exhaust of combustion products.
It must be adapted to the characteristics of the accommodation. - A drinking water supply
It must allow distribution within the dwelling with sufficient pressure and flow for the normal use of its tenants. - Evacuation facilities waste water
These facilities must prevent the release of odours and effluents.
They must have a syphon. - A kitchen or a kitchen area enabling the installation of a cooking appliance and including a sink connected to a hot and cold water supply and an exhaust system waste water.
- An indoor sanitary facility
It must include a toilet, separate from the kitchen and the room where meals are taken.
There must be body washroom equipment, including a bath or shower, arranged to ensure personal privacy, supplied with hot and cold water and equipped with sewage disposal.
However, in the case of single room accommodation, the sanitary facility may be limited to a toilet outside the accommodation, provided that the toilet is located in the same building and is easily accessible. - A power grid
It must allow sufficient lighting of all rooms and access.
It must allow the operation of the common household appliances essential for everyday life.
To be decent, housing must not exceed a certain energy performance threshold.
For new leases concluded since 1to January 2023, the housing is decent if its energy consumption is less than 450 kWh of final energy per square metre of habitable surface and per year.
This consumption is estimated by the energy performance diagnostics (DPE).
Please note
This threshold does not apply to accommodation located overseas.
Warning
The energy performance criterion to be met shall be for new leases signed:
- From 2025, between Class A and Class F
- From 2028, between class A and class E (but in Dom, between class A and class F)
- From 2034, between class A and class D (but in Dom, between class A and class E)
If the dwelling is not decent, the tenant must indicate in writing to the owner the signs of non-compliance of the dwelling with the criteria of decency.
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The owner accepts the signs of non-decency
The tenant must provide the owner with the following information by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt:
- Compliance work that the owner undertakes
- Timeframes for completion of work
The owner disputed the signs of non-decency
The lessee must require the owner to carry out the compliance work by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
After a period of 2 months, if the notice has not been answered or if the disagreement persists, the tenant may refer the matter to the court office.
Who shall I contact
However, it may choose to appeal to the departmental conciliation board.
Warning
the tenant must not stop paying all or part of his rent under the pretext that the landlord is not meeting his obligations.
If the court judge finds that the dwelling does not meet the standards of decency, he may:
- Force the owner to do the necessary work
- Impose the rent reduction to grant to the tenant
- Impose damages to be paid to the tenant
Furnished accommodation
To be considered as a furnished rental, the accommodation must meet the criteria of furnishing. The list of these criteria depends on the date the lease was signed.
A rental accommodation must have a minimum surface area. The minimum area differs depending on whether the accommodation is rented or colocation.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Rental accommodation
A rental unit must respect a minimum surface area. This is one of housing decency.
The accommodation shall have at least one main room having:
- Either one habitable surface at least 9 m² and a ceiling height of at least 2,20 m
- Either one habitable volume not less than 20 m³
Warning
departmental health regulations may impose more restrictive conditions.
Shared housing
The rule varies depending on whether there is a single lease or whether each roommate has signed a lease.
Single Lease
A rental unit must respect a minimum surface area. This is one of housing decency.
The accommodation must have a minimum surface of 16 m² for 2 roommates. For each additional roommate, an additional 9 m² is required.
Warning
departmental health regulations may impose more restrictive conditions.
Each roommate signs a lease
Each lease must specify the room of which each roommate has the private use and the common areas made available to all roommates (kitchen, bathroom, living room...)
Each roommate must have a room with a surface of at least 9 m2 and with a volume not less than 20 m3 (common rooms not included).
Please note
the decent housing is evaluated taking into account all the elements, equipment and rooms of the accommodation (and not the only room of which the tenant has the private use).
The accommodation must comply with the following conditions:
- Accommodation provides closed and covered.
The main work of the accommodation and its access is in good condition of maintenance and solidity and protects the premises against runoff and upwelling. The exterior carpentry and the cover with its fittings and accessories provide protection against water infiltration in the dwelling. - The accommodation is protected from air leakage.
The doors and windows of the accommodation are sufficiently air-tight.
The walls and walls of the accommodation facing the outside or unheated spaces are sufficiently air-tight.
The openings of the rooms overlooking unheated outbuildings are equipped with doors or windows.
The fireplaces are equipped with traps. - Restraints for persons (window guards, staircases, loggias and balconies) located in the accommodation and in its accesses are in a state in accordance with their use.
- The nature, state of conservation and maintenance of building materials, pipes and linings in the dwelling do not present any obvious risks to the health and physical safety of the tenants.
- Electricity and gas networks and connections comply with safety standards and are in good working order.
- Heating and hot water production equipment complies with safety standards and is in good condition for use and operation.
- The accommodation allows sufficient ventilation.
The opening and any ventilation devices in the accommodation are in good condition. In addition, they allow for the air to be renewed and the humidity to be evacuated, adapted to the needs of a normal housing occupation and the operation of the equipment. - The main rooms (intended for sleeping or staying) have sufficient natural light and a window opening giving the air free, or a glass volume giving the air free.
FYI
a room in the basement cannot be offered for rent.
Decent housing is housing that is not infested by pests (e.g. rats) or parasites (e.g. bed chips, cockroaches).
The accommodation shall include the following amenities and comforts:
- An installation enabling normal heating
It shall be fitted with the power supply and exhaust of combustion products.
It must be adapted to the characteristics of the accommodation. - A drinking water supply
It must allow distribution within the dwelling with sufficient pressure and flow for the normal use of its tenants. - Evacuation facilities waste water
These facilities must prevent the release of odours and effluents.
They must have a syphon. - A kitchen or a kitchen area enabling the installation of a cooking appliance and including a sink connected to a hot and cold water supply and an exhaust system waste water.
- An indoor sanitary facility
It must include a toilet, separate from the kitchen and the room where meals are taken.
There must be body washroom equipment, including a bath or shower, arranged to ensure personal privacy, supplied with hot and cold water and equipped with sewage disposal.
However, in the case of single room accommodation, the sanitary facility may be limited to a toilet outside the accommodation, provided that the toilet is located in the same building and is easily accessible. - A power grid
It must allow sufficient lighting of all rooms and access.
It must allow the operation of the common household appliances essential for everyday life.
To be decent, housing must not exceed a certain energy performance threshold.
For new leases concluded since 1to January 2023, the housing is decent if its energy consumption is less than 450 kWh of final energy per square metre of habitable surface and per year.
This consumption is estimated by the energy performance diagnostics (DPE).
Please note
This threshold does not apply to accommodation located overseas.
Warning
The energy performance criterion to be met shall be for new leases signed:
- From 2025, between Class A and Class F
- From 2028, between class A and class E (but in Dom, between class A and class F)
- From 2034, between class A and class D (but in Dom, between class A and class E)
If the dwelling is not decent, the tenant must indicate in writing to the owner the signs of non-compliance of the dwelling with the criteria of decency.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
The owner accepts the signs of non-decency
The tenant must provide the owner with the following information by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt:
- Compliance work that the owner undertakes
- Timeframes for completion of work
The owner disputed the signs of non-decency
The lessee must require the owner to carry out the compliance work by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
After a period of 2 months, if the notice has not been answered or if the disagreement persists, the tenant may refer the matter to the court office.
Who shall I contact
However, it may choose to appeal to the departmental conciliation board.
Warning
the tenant must not stop paying all or part of his rent under the pretext that the landlord is not meeting his obligations.
If the court judge finds that the dwelling does not meet the standards of decency, he may:
- Force the owner to do the necessary work
- Impose the rent reduction to grant to the tenant
- Impose damages to be paid to the tenant
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
- Administrative information by telephone - Allo Public Service
The informants who answer you belong to the ministry in charge of housing and city planning.
Cost: Free Service
Attention: the service does not have access to users ' personal records and therefore cannot provide information on their status.
The service is available at the following times:
- Monday: 8:30 to 17:30
- Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Thursday: 8:30 to 17:30
- Friday: 1 pm to 4:15 pm
- Info undignified housing (unsanitary, peril...)
An advisor from a departmental housing information agency (Adil) explains the steps to take if you live in unsanitary (unsanitary, imperilled...) or if you are aware of such a situation.
By phone
0 806 706 806
Open from 9 am to 12 pm and from 2 pm to 5 pm
Cost of a local call
- Act No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 on rental reports: article 6Owner's obligations
- Act No. 89-462 of July 6, 1989 on rental reports: article 2Accommodation concerned
- Act No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 on rental reports: Article 20-1Recourse tenant non-decent housing
- Civil Code: Articles 1714 to 1751-1Obligations of the owner (Articles 1719, 1720 and 1724)
- Decree No. 2002-120 of 30 January 2002 on the characteristics of decent housingJournal dimensions: general case
- Decree No. 2015-981 of 31 July 2015 fixing the list of furniture elements of a furnished dwellingFurnished accommodation: criteria for furnishing since 1st September 2015
- Public Health Code: Article L1331-23Basement premises
FAQ
- At what temperature should a house be heated?
- What is the minimum surface area of a rental unit?
- Can a tenant leave their home without notice?
- Furnished or empty rental: what differences?
- What are the different types of rental of furnished accommodation?
- What to do in case of a dispute related to the rental of a dwelling?
- Is it possible to rent a dwelling located in an area of undignified housing?
- Can we turn a basement into a place to rent it?
- Health risks and housing securityService-Public.fr
- Characteristics of decent housingLegifrance
- Your building or accommodation is in bad condition: what to do? (PDF - 0)National Housing Information Agency (Anil)
- Unworthy habitat (unhealthy, peril, ...): what recourse?National Housing Information Agency (Anil)
- Tenants, your electric heaters consume too much. What to do?National Housing Information Agency (Anil)
News
Les logements les plus énergivores ne peuvent plus être proposés à la location
Publié le 03 janvier 2023
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