Your rights and obligations — Renting

I am a tenant

My right to a decent home

The owner must provide a decent home that presents no obvious risk to the tenant’s physical safety or health.

The home must in particular meet the legal criteria concerning:

• the living area or volume;
• the safety of the home and its equipment;
• the drinking water supply;
• waste water drainage;
• sanitary facilities;
• the electrical installation;
• heating where required;
• ventilation and air renewal;
• natural light;
• the absence of pests and parasites;
• the minimum energy performance required to let it.

As a general rule, the home must have at least one main room of either at least 9 m² with a ceiling height of at least 2.20 m, or a living volume of at least 20 m³.

My right to a fair listing

The information given in the listing must match the reality of the home.

The rent, charges, surface area, location, number of rooms, amenities, whether it is furnished, energy information and the other stated features must be accurate.

Photographs must not give a misleading picture of the home.

Where an image is a projection or a virtual layout, or has been altered by artificial intelligence in a way that could change how the home is perceived, it must be identifiable as such under Havelia’s publishing rules.

My right to energy information

Where the regulations require it, the listing must include the mandatory information on the home’s energy performance.

The owner or professional remains responsible for the accuracy of the information taken from the DPE (energy performance certificate) and for whether the home can legally be let given its energy performance.

My rights regarding the rent

The rent asked must comply with the regulations that apply to the home.

In some municipalities or areas, specific rules may govern how rents are set or how they change.

Where the regulations require it, additional information must appear in the listing, in particular the reference rent, the increased reference rent or any rent supplement.

A rent amount shown on Havelia does not mean that Havelia has checked or approved its compliance.

My rental application

An owner or a professional may ask for certain documents in order to assess a rental application.

They may not, however, ask for just any document.

Only the supporting documents allowed by the regulations may be required from the rental applicant and, where applicable, from their guarantor.

The information and documents provided must be used for legitimate purposes related to assessing the application and handled in accordance with personal data protection rules.

My right not to be discriminated against

No applicant may be turned down for a rental on the basis of a discriminatory criterion prohibited by law.

The choice of a tenant may take into account objective criteria for assessing the application and the applicant’s ability to take on the rental, but it may not be based on a discriminatory ground.

My rights during the tenancy

For the duration of the lease, the owner must in particular keep the home fit for its intended use, ensure the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the home and carry out the repairs that are legally their responsibility.

The tenant also enjoys the rights provided by the lease and by the regulations that apply to the type of lease concerned.

My main obligations as a tenant

As a tenant, I must in particular:

• pay the rent and charges when due;
• use the home peacefully;
• respect the use set out in the lease;
• carry out routine maintenance of the home;
• carry out the tenant repairs that are my responsibility;
• answer for any damage for which I am legally responsible;
• insure the home against tenant risks where this obligation applies;
• allow certain works under the conditions set by law;
• not alter the home without the owner’s permission where it is required;
• comply with the conditions that apply to any subletting.

Before committing

As far as possible, check the home and the identity and status of the person you are dealing with before committing.

Be especially careful in the event of an unusual request for payment or for sensitive personal documents.

Do not send your documents needlessly to people whose identity or status you have not checked.

I am an owner / professional

I must be entitled to offer the home

Before publishing a listing, I must hold the right, mandate, authorisation or accreditation needed to offer the home for rent.

If I offer a home that I do not own, I must hold the necessary authorisations.

Where an administrative authorisation, a declaration, a rental permit or another formality is required, it is up to me to make sure it is complied with.

I must offer a decent home

The home must meet the legal criteria of decency, safety, health and energy performance that apply when it is put up for rent.

I am responsible for checking that the home can legally be offered for rent.

Publishing a listing on Havelia does not certify that the home is compliant.

My listing must be accurate

I must provide accurate, fair and up-to-date information concerning in particular:

• the surface area;
• the location;
• the number of rooms;
• the number of bedrooms;
• the amenities;
• whether it is unfurnished or furnished;
• the rent;
• the charges;
• the security deposit;
• fees where applicable;
• the home’s availability;
• the DPE and the mandatory energy information.

I must update or withdraw my listing when the information is no longer accurate or when the home is no longer available.

My photos must match the home

Photographs and videos must fairly represent the property offered.

I must not use retouching or artificial intelligence to:

• hide a significant defect;
• remove a real feature that could influence the applicant’s decision;
• add equipment that does not exist;
• artificially alter dimensions or volumes;
• present a fictitious renovation or layout as actually existing.

Projections and virtual home staging may be used in line with Havelia’s rules when they are clearly presented as such and make it possible to tell the actual condition of the home from the projection.

I am responsible for the DPE and diagnostics

I must hold the mandatory diagnostics that apply to my home and make sure they are valid.

I am responsible for the accuracy of the energy information entered in my listing.

I must also check that the home’s energy performance allows it to be let under the rules in force.

I am responsible for the rent asked

I must check the rules that apply to the amount of the rent.

Depending on where the home is located, it may in particular be subject to specific rules on setting, changing or capping the rent.

Where specific information is mandatory in the listing, I must fill it in correctly.

Havelia does not set or approve the legal amount of the rent.

Security deposit and sums requested

I may only ask the applicant or tenant for the sums and guarantees allowed by the regulations.

The rules may differ in particular depending on whether it is an unfurnished letting, a furnished letting, a bail mobilité (short-term mobility lease) or another specific regime.

It is up to me to check the rules for the contract I intend to offer.

If I offer a furnished letting

A home presented as furnished must genuinely meet the conditions for that classification.

It must in particular include the mandatory furniture and equipment allowing the tenant to sleep, eat and live there properly.

I may not ask for just any document

To assess an application, I may ask the applicant, and possibly their guarantor, for certain supporting documents.

I must respect the list of legally authorised documents.

The documents and information received must be protected and used only for a legitimate purpose related to the rental.

I must not discriminate

I may not refuse an application on the basis of a discriminatory criterion prohibited by law.

The selection of a tenant must be based on objective and lawful criteria.

This obligation also covers the content of my listing, my exchanges with applicants and the criteria used to select applications.

If I am a real estate professional

I remain responsible for complying with all the professional obligations that apply to my activity.

In particular, I must hold the necessary accreditations and show in my listings the mandatory information and fees where the regulations require it.

Havelia publishing a listing does not replace my own professional obligations.

Before committing

Before publishing your listing and signing a lease, check in particular the decency of the home, its energy performance, the necessary diagnostics, the amount of the rent, the specific rules that apply in your municipality, the documents that may be requested from the applicant and the legal regime that matches the type of letting offered.