Renting an apartment in Paris as a newcomer comes down to three things: a complete dossier de location (your rental application file), a guarantor (garant or caution) and speed. The law sets the exact list of documents a landlord may ask for, so you never have to hand over bank statements or a photo. If you don’t have a French guarantor, Visale, run by the state-backed body Action Logement, is a free guarantee for tenants aged 30 or under and for older private-sector employees who are newly hired, still in their trial period or transferred. Good flats go fast, so prepare the file before you start visiting.
This guide explains what goes in the dossier, how the garant works, who can get Visale, what you pay when you move in and how to avoid common traps. Facts come from Service-Public and Action Logement, checked in October 2026.
Step 1: build your dossier de location
Documents a landlord may ask for
The law fixes the list of documents a landlord or agency can request. For you as the tenant, they can ask for one or more documents in each category (Service-Public):
| Category | Accepted documents (examples) |
|---|---|
| Identity | Passport, ID card or driving licence with photo (French or foreign), or a residence permit |
| Current address | Last 3 rent receipts or a letter from your previous landlord, or a sworn statement from the person hosting you |
| Work situation | Employment contract or a letter from your employer, or proof of self-employment |
| Income | Last 3 payslips, last tax notice, proof of benefits, or a housing aid simulation from the CAF |
For a newcomer, the employment contract or a letter from the new employer confirming your job, salary and start date is the key document. Ask HR for an attestation employeur before you arrive.
Documents a landlord may not ask for
Anything outside that list is forbidden, and a landlord who demands it can be fined up to €3,000 (€15,000 for a company). Bank statements, a photo, your medical records or a deposit by bank transfer before the lease is signed aren’t on the list. No money can be asked of you to reserve a flat or before you sign the lease (Service-Public).
Foreign documents
Foreign documents are accepted, but copies must be written in or translated into French, with amounts converted to euros. If your income wasn’t taxed in France, you can give the equivalent tax notice from your previous country. The landlord can ask to see originals.
Use DossierFacile
DossierFacile is the government’s digital rental file. It guides you through the documents for your situation, watermarks them against fraud, and lets you share your file through secure links that you can track and revoke. You can also ask for a manual check of your file, which gives it a label that reassures landlords. Instead of an email full of attachments, you send each landlord or agency its own link.
Dossier location exemple: a newcomer’s file
A complete file for an employee who has just moved to Paris could contain:
- Passport and residence permit or visa.
- A letter from the person or residence you are staying with now.
- Employment contract and an employer letter (attestation employeur) with salary and start date.
- Payslips from your previous employer, translated if needed, and your first French payslip as soon as you have it.
- Your last tax notice from your previous country, translated.
- Your guarantor’s documents, or your Visale “visa”.
Step 2: find a garant (guarantor)
Most Paris landlords ask for a guarantor who will pay if you don’t. Under the law (Service-Public):
- Who can be a guarantor: a person (family member, friend) or an organisation, such as Action Logement (Visale), a company or a bank.
- Personal guarantors must show identity, address, job and income, with the same rules for foreign documents. A guarantor living abroad is legally possible, but many landlords prefer someone in France.
- Landlords with rent insurance: a private landlord who already has unpaid rent insurance can only ask for a guarantor if you are a student or apprentice.
- The guarantee must be in writing (acte de cautionnement) and signed by the guarantor.
If no one in France can act as your guarantor, you have three main options: Visale, a guarantee from your employer or bank, or a paid private guarantor service. Ask HR first; some employers help new hires with housing.
Step 3: apply for Visale
What Visale is
Visale (Visa pour le Logement et l’Emploi) is a free rental guarantee from Action Logement. It guarantees the landlord payment of rent and charges if you default, and covers rental damage, during the first 3 years of the lease (Action Logement). Any amount Action Logement pays has to be paid back by you.
Who can get Visale
For a private-sector rental, you can get Visale if you are (Action Logement):
- aged 30 or under (until your 31st birthday), whatever your work situation, including students;
- over 30 and a private-sector employee with a net monthly salary of €1,710 or less;
- over 30 and a private-sector employee starting a new job or transferred: on a CDI still in its trial period, a CDD of less than 6 months, holding a job promise (promesse d’embauche) or on a transfer;
- any age, if you sign a bail mobilité (a furnished lease of 1 to 10 months).
For many newcomers hired from abroad, the “new job, trial period” route is the one that applies: apply while you are still in your trial period. Other conditions can apply; the online platform checks your eligibility before you apply.
What Visale covers
| Private rental | |
|---|---|
| Unpaid rent and charges | Up to 36 months of rent and charges |
| Rental damage | Up to 2 months of rent and charges |
| Duration | First 3 years of the lease |
| Cost | Free |
How to apply
- Check your eligibility and create an account on the Visale platform linked from the Action Logement page.
- Upload your documents online.
- When your request is complete and compliant, your visa is certified within a few working days. You download it from your account and give it to the landlord.
- The landlord then signs up for the guarantee online. Only the landlord’s contract with Action Logement makes the guarantee binding; the visa alone doesn’t.
Get your visa before you visit flats, so you can show it straight away.
Step 4: know the costs before you sign
Rent in Paris
Paris rents are the highest in France. The average unfurnished rent in Paris was €26.3 per m² a month on 1 January 2025, and €28.3 per m² for tenants who had moved in during 2024 (OLAP). Rents on new leases are capped by official reference rents; Service-Public says Paris rent control covers leases signed or renewed up to 24 November 2026, so check whether it has been extended. Our Paris cost of living guide explains rent control and how to check a rent.
Landlords often look for an income of about three times the rent. That is a market habit, not a legal rule, but it is why a guarantor or Visale matters.
Moving-in costs
- Deposit (dépôt de garantie): at most 1 month’s rent excluding charges for an unfurnished flat, 2 months for a furnished one (Service-Public).
- Agency fees: in Paris your share is capped at €12.10 per m² for visits, the file and the lease, plus €3.03 per m² for the move-in inspection (Service-Public). For a 35 m² flat that is at most €423.50 + €106.05.
- Home insurance: tenants must insure the home against rental risks (Service-Public), and the certificate is an annex to the lease.
- First month’s rent, usually in advance.
Lease types
- Unfurnished lease (location vide): at least 3 years with a private landlord, 6 years with a company (Service-Public).
- Furnished lease (location meublée): shorter terms, popular with newcomers.
- Bail mobilité: a furnished lease of 1 to 10 months for people on a work transfer, temporary assignment, training or studies. It can’t be renewed, and the landlord can’t ask for a deposit (Service-Public). Visale is open to any age with a bail mobilité, which makes it a good first step while you look for a long-term flat.
Rent apartment Paris long term: practical tips
- Start with a furnished bail mobilité or temporary housing for your first weeks. It’s much easier to rent long term once you have a French address, a bank account and a first payslip.
- Prepare the dossier and Visale visa before visits. In Paris, landlords often pick the first complete file.
- Never pay before signing. Requests to pay a deposit to “hold” a flat, especially for a flat you haven’t visited, are a classic scam and illegal.
- Check the rent against the Paris reference rent before you sign, and check that the lease states it.
- Do the move-in inspection (état des lieux) carefully and photograph everything; it decides what you get back from the deposit.
- Consider the inner suburbs. Many towns next to Paris are on the metro or RER, and rents there were lower on average in OLAP’s figures.
Our relocation checklist puts housing next to the other first-month tasks, such as your bank account and health cover. If you are still job hunting, jobs in Paris had 969 English-speaking openings on France Dev Jobs on 16 October 2026, and visa sponsorship jobs shows employers that help with permits.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dossier de location?
It is the rental application file you give a landlord or agency: proof of identity, current address, job and income, plus your guarantor’s documents or a Visale visa. The law fixes which documents can be requested.
What is a garant in France?
A garant (or caution) is a person or organisation that agrees in writing to pay your rent if you don’t. It can be a family member, a friend, your employer, a bank or Action Logement through Visale.
Who is eligible for Visale?
Tenants aged 30 or under, whatever their situation; private-sector employees over 30 who earn €1,710 net a month or less, or who are newly hired (CDI in trial period, CDD under 6 months, job promise) or transferred; and anyone signing a bail mobilité.
Is Visale free?
Yes. Action Logement provides the Visale guarantee free of charge. If Action Logement pays unpaid rent for you, you have to repay it.
Can a landlord ask for my bank statements?
No. Bank statements aren’t on the official list of documents a landlord may request, and asking for documents outside that list can be fined up to €3,000.
Can I rent in Paris without a French guarantor?
Yes. You can use Visale if you are eligible, a guarantee from your employer or bank, or a paid guarantor service. A furnished bail mobilité, which has no deposit, is another way to get started.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Housing rules change; check the official pages linked above before you sign a lease or pay anything.