Decent housing - Empty housing

A rental unit must have a minimum surface area. The minimum area differs depending on whether the accommodation is rented or rented colocation.

The accommodation shall comply with the following conditions:

• The accommodation provides closed and covered.
  The main structure of the dwelling and its accesses 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 into the dwelling.
• The housing is protected against parasitic air infiltration.
  The doors and windows of the housing are sufficiently airtight.
  The walls and walls of the housing opening to the outside or of the non-heated rooms are sufficiently air-tight.
  Openings in rooms opening onto non-heated ancillary spaces shall be provided with doors or windows.
  The chimneys are equipped with hatches.
• Personal restraint systems (window guards, staircases, loggias and balconies) located in the accommodation and in its accesses shall be in a condition suitable for their use.
• The nature, conservation and maintenance status of building materials, pipes and linings in the dwelling do not present any obvious risks to the health and physical safety of tenants.
• Electricity and gas networks and connections comply with safety standards and are in good working and working order.
• The heating and hot water production equipment complies with safety standards and is in good working and operating condition.
• The housing allows sufficient ventilation.
  The opening devices and any ventilation devices of the housings are in good condition. In addition, they allow air renewal and moisture evacuation adapted to the needs of normal occupancy of the housing and to the operation of the equipment.
• The main rooms (intended for living or sleeping) have sufficient natural illumination and an opening giving to the open air, or to a glazed volume giving to the open air.

Decent housing is housing that is not infested by pests (e.g. rats) or parasites (e.g. bed fleas, cockroaches).

The accommodation shall include the following equipment and comfort elements:

• An installation allowing a normal heating
  It must be fitted with devices for supplying energy and removing the products of combustion.
  It must be adapted to the characteristics of the dwelling.
• A drinking water supply facility
  It must allow, inside the dwelling, distribution with sufficient pressure and flow rate for the normal use of its tenants.
• Facilities for the evacuation of waste water
  These installations must prevent the discharge of odors and effluents.
  They must have a siphon.
• A kitchen or a kitchen area enabling the installation of a cooking appliance and comprising a sink connected to an installation for supplying hot and cold water and to an installation for discharging waste water.
• A sanitary facility inside the housing
  It must include a toilet, separate from the kitchen and the room where meals are taken.
  There must be personal toilet equipment with a bathtub or shower, arranged to ensure personal privacy, supplied with hot and cold water and provided with sewage disposal.
  However, in the case of a single-room dwelling, the sanitary installation may be limited to a toilet outside the dwelling, provided that this toilet is located in the same building and easily accessible.
• An electricity grid
  It must provide adequate lighting for all rooms and accesses.
  It must allow the operation of everyday household appliances essential to daily life.

To be decent, housing must not exceed a certain energy performance threshold.

For new leases concluded since 1^er january 2023, the housing is decent if its energy consumption is less than 450 kWh of final energy per square meter of living space and per year.

This consumption is estimated by the energy performance diagnosis (DPE).

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.

If the judge of the court 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 be granted to the tenant
• Impose damages on the tenant