Selecting a tenant in France

French law provides a great deal of protection to tenants from eviction, so select your tenants carefully.

Obviously, you will want to gather as much information about your prospective tenant as possible to make an informed decision, but French law even restricts which documents and information you are allowed to ask for.

Items you are not allowed to demand:

• Reference from a previous landlord.
• Photo ID
• Social Security Card
• Bank statements or bank reference
• Authorization to pay rent by direct debit
• Medical records
• Employer reference
• Marriage or Divorce records

There is still plenty of information and supporting documents you can ask for such as pay stubs or salary slips, income tax return, employer references, etc.  When you have these items, make sure you follow up, verify the document validity, and talk to all references.

If you are still concerned about a prospective tenant’s ability to pay you can either refuse them tenancy, ask them to provide a third party guarantor, or obtain insurance against the non-payment of rent.

by Cheryl Hartzman, AboutFrenchProperty.com - Copyright © About French Property