Glossary: renting and rent-control vocabulary

The definitions below explain terms found throughout the application, with benchmarks for France. They are general information, not legal advice: when in doubt, ask your local authority, a housing advice agency (ADIL) or a professional.

An amount added to the base rent of a dwelling in a rent-controlled city when the dwelling has exceptional features of location or comfort compared with similar dwellings in the same area (for example an outstanding view, a large terrace, a rare amenity). It is added to the rent without being subject to the cap.

• Conditions: the base rent must not exceed the increased reference rent; the feature must not already be reflected in the reference rent; it must not give rise to expenses already recoverable from the tenant as charges.
• In the lease: the supplement amount and the features justifying it must be stated, in addition to the base rent.
• Challenge: the tenant can challenge it, first amicably and then before the departmental conciliation commission, within 3 months of signing the lease. If the supplement is not justified it can be removed and any excess paid refunded.
• In the application: enter it in the unit's rent editor with its justification. The Rent field stays the total excluding charges, supplement included; the rent-control check compares only the base rent with the cap.

Rent excluding charges without the rent supplement. This is what rent control compares with the per-m² cap. With no supplement, the base rent equals the unit's rent.

In a rent-controlled city, the prefect sets every year a per-m² reference rent by district, number of rooms, construction period and type of rental (unfurnished or furnished). The increased reference rent (+20%) is the cap the base rent must not exceed; the decreased reference rent (-30%) is a benchmark for challenging a rent the landlord set too low at renewal. The maximum rent calculator gives a dwelling's cap.

An area where the rent of unfurnished or furnished dwellings is capped at re-letting and renewal. It differs from a tight zone, which relates among other things to the tenant's shorter notice period and the tax on vacant housing. The list changes over time: check it on the official sites.

The rent excluding charges pays for the dwelling; recoverable charges reimburse the landlord for costs linked to using the dwelling (water, routine upkeep, lift…), as advance payments with an annual adjustment for an unfurnished lease or as a flat fee for a furnished one. Rent control applies only to the rent excluding charges.