Rent Caps and Rent Controls in 2022
First, let’s note that this applies only to residential leases where the property serves as the tenant’s primary residence, whether under a lease for an unfurnished unit or furnished lease.
Regarding the cap:
For many years now, landlords have been subject to a cap on rent increases between tenants. When a tenant moves out, the landlord may not increase the rent (excluding utilities)* (*the rental expenses (are, however, subject to adjustment based on their actual cost) unless the rent is adjusted (based on the INSEE Reference Rent Index (IRL)), if this has not been done within the last 12 months, or significant improvement work is carried out (as opposed to simple maintenance).
The rent cap does not apply only in the following cases, when the landlord:
- has carried out work to improve the dwelling or bring it into compliance with standards of decency, provided that such work was performed since the signing of the previous lease and that the cost of the work is at least equal to half of the rent for the last year. In such cases, the new rent may be increased by 15% of the cost of the work, including tax.
- If the landlord can demonstrate that the work performed exceeds the amount of the last year’s rent and was completed within the last six months, then the new rent may be set at any amount (up to the adjusted reference rent).
- can demonstrate that the rent charged is clearly undervalued and actually lower than the rents for neighboring properties comparable to his or her property. The new rent will be capped at half the difference between the average rent observed in the neighborhood and the last rent charged to the previous tenant, adjusted as necessary.
In any case, this is only feasible if the dwelling’s primary energy consumption is less than 331 kWh per square meter per year. It should be noted that rents for properties classified as F and G have been frozen since August 25.
