Your rental application: what we really look at

A missing document weighs more than a slightly tight income. A complete application beats a vague one, every time.

Two documents are enough to open your application: both sides of your identity card and your latest tax assessment. We ask for the rest only once the home is confirmed, so that your documents do not circulate needlessly. Everything is kept off the website and destroyed as soon as the home is allocated.

The application comes before the viewing, and that rule does not move. It saves you a wasted journey, and it saves us showing the same flat twenty times. Once your application is approved, we arrange the appointment on a weekday or on a Saturday morning.

What does not count against you

Many applicants apologise in advance for their situation. A fixed-term contract, a probation period, self-employment, an arrival from abroad: none of that rules out an application with us.

What we look at is how the rent matches your resources, and how clear your documents are. A complete and tidy application beats a brilliant but incomplete one, because we can decide on the first one the same day.

We always reply, including when the answer is no. Hearing nothing back is tenants' number one complaint about agencies, and it is the easiest one to avoid.

The list of documents

Two documents are enough to open your application: both sides of your proof of identity and your latest tax assessment. We ask for the rest only once the home is confirmed. So your documents do not circulate needlessly.

For an employee, we then ask for the employment contract or a letter from the employer, and the last three payslips. For a self-employed applicant, the last two or three sets of accounts, or the matching tax assessments. For a retired applicant, the latest pension statement.

Add to that a proof of current address and, where applicable, the last three rent receipts. Finally, if you put forward a guarantor, they provide the same documents as you. With Visale, the guarantee certificate replaces that whole part.

Your rent-to-income ratio, simply

The rent-to-income ratio compares the rent including service charges with your monthly net income. A ratio of thirty-three per cent means a third of your income goes on housing. That is the usual benchmark on the market, and ours.

In practice, a rent of one thousand euros including service charges calls for about three thousand euros of net income, guarantor included. We do look at the whole picture, however: a comfortable amount left to live on weighs more than a perfect ratio. A calculator also appears on every property listing.

This benchmark guides us, it never rules you out. Indeed, a retired applicant with solid assets, a self-employed applicant with three sets of accounts or a young couple covered by Visale all move in with us regularly. We would rather understand a situation than turn down a set of figures.

Visale and the guarantor

Visale is a free guarantee, issued by Action Logement, which replaces a personal guarantor. It covers unpaid rent and damage within the limits set by the scheme. We accept it without reservation.

It is aimed in particular at people under thirty-one, at employees starting a contract and at people relocating for work. You apply online, before you start looking for a home. So you arrive with your certificate already in hand.

A personal guarantor remains possible. They provide the same documents as you and commit through a deed of guarantee. On the other hand, a guarantor living outside France makes recovery seriously harder: in that case, we recommend Visale.

What we never ask for

The law sets a closed list of the documents that may be required. We stick to it. So we ask for no bank statements, no certificate showing you have no loans, no photograph and no medical records.

We do not ask for any payment before signing either. No payment, no reservation, no application fee. If someone asks you for money in our name, it is a fraud.

Finally, your documents stay off the website. We keep them while we review your application, then we destroy them as soon as the home is allocated. Our privacy policy explains this in detail.

The mistakes that cost you

The first mistake is the incomplete application. One missing document is enough to put an application behind another. Indeed, we cannot compare what we do not have.

The second is the unreadable document. A photo taken at an angle, cropped or blurred, means asking again. So three days go by for nothing. A straight scan, as a PDF, solves the problem.

The third is silence. An application sent in and then unreachable for a week misses its turn. So leave a number where we can actually reach you.

The viewing

The viewing comes after your application is approved, never before. It takes place with us, on a weekday or on a Saturday morning, and rarely in a group. Allow about thirty minutes.

We show the home, the communal areas, the parking and the fittings. We answer the questions on service charges, heating and neighbours. What is more, we say what is not ideal: an overlooked window, a noise, a staircase.

You leave with the exact figures: rent, service charge instalment, deposit and availability date. So you decide on facts you can check. In practice, the decision comes within two days.

From signing to keys

You sign the tenancy agreement with the compulsory annexes: surveys, energy performance certificate, the relevant parts of the building regulations and the information notice. We hand them over and we explain them. In practice, nothing gets signed without being read.

The inventory of condition takes place on the day the keys change hands, room by room. We note everything, down to the details. You then have the legal period to add to it, in particular on the heating.

Home insurance is compulsory from day one: bring the certificate. Finally, remember to put the meters in your name before the day itself. So you move in with water and electricity.

After you move in

You pay the rent at the start of each month, and the rent receipt follows. The service charge instalment is reconciled once a year, against the building's actual accounts. In practice, it can lead to a refund just as easily as to a top-up.

The rent is reviewed under the indexation clause in the tenancy agreement, within the limit of the legal index. No increase is decided outside that framework. So you know in advance what can move.

For any breakdown, call us directly. We manage our homes ourselves and we work with local tradespeople. On the other hand, tell us quickly: a small problem dealt with late costs everyone dear.

Leaving the home

You give notice by recorded delivery letter or by formal service, stating the date you leave. It runs for one month in a designated high-demand area and three months elsewhere, with the reductions the law provides for. So the departure date is set without ambiguity.

The final inventory of condition is compared with the one made on entry, room by room. Normal wear and tear is not charged; damage is. What is more, a home handed back clean and repaired speeds up the return of the deposit.

The deposit comes back to you within the legal period after the keys change hands. We attach a breakdown of any deductions, with supporting documents. As a result, there is never a surprise at the end.

In short

We look at three things, always in the same order: how your income matches the rent including service charges, the stability of your situation, and the guarantee you offer. The usual benchmark remains a net income of about three times the rent, guarantor included. It guides us, it does not rule you out.

Two documents are enough to open your application: both sides of your proof of identity and your latest tax assessment. The rest comes only once the home is confirmed. So your documents do not circulate needlessly.

The application comes before the viewing, and that rule does not move. It saves you a wasted journey, and it saves us twenty viewings for a single home. What is more, we never organise group viewings.

A complete application beats a vague one, every time.

So prepare straight, readable scans, and leave a number where we can actually reach you. Finally, send your application even if nothing suits you today: we call these applicants back before we publish a listing.

Frequently asked questions