Comment by GuB-42
3 years ago
I am a landlord in France, and from what I've seen, rental contracts are essentially not worth the paper they are written on.
Either what you put in the contract is a law, so it is effective no matter if you write it or not, or it isn't and in this case, there is a high chance it is considered abusive and therefore not legally enforceable. In fact, you might as well not write anything at all! If someone lives on someone's property and pays money in exchange, there is an implicit contract with standard clauses between the two parties. I think the only additional right a written contract can give a landlord is to increase the rent, but by no more than the inflation rate.
I don't know if I like that or hate it. Having the simplicity that everything is equal is great. What about pet clauses, garage access, and such? Seems like those would need to be respected.
I'm in Germany not France but Pet Clauses aren't generally valid.
Garage access is only an issue if you pay for it. If you pay for a garage, the landlord has to ensure you have access and depending on the type of contract, ensure you are the only one with access (re; shared vs solo garages).
The Pet Clause thing only concerns big pets. Anything the size of a normal house cat or smaller (except actual house cats and exotic/unusual pets) requires no special permission. If larger pets are banned, this is only valid if there is a contract condition to allow the tenant to get special permission to have a cat or dog. A total and general ban of all pets is considered too disadvantageous for the tenant and thus not allowed. When asking for permission, the denial must have an explanation attached. "Pet can cause damage" isn't allowed for example, since the owner could just buy a pet insurance to cover any claims. Noise and dirt aren't either, since the landlord can require the owner to take care of that. Basically the explanation of why you deny a pet has to be something that the owner doesn't have the power to change easily, such as that the landlord is allergic and living in the flat above you or similar things.
This kinda stuff is usually added at the end of the template contract, there isn'T a lot to read so they tend to be obvious.
It is essentially the same in France. Pet clauses are generally invalid, and the tenant is responsible for whatever damage or disturbance the animal may cause.