cshurt64

Hi all,
I am starting the process of finding a place for my wife and I to rent in Loches. I am trying to find out what sort of information is required prior to renting a house. In the US you just need $$$, but in France it seems there is more. From this and other forums I have found the following items, but to be honest there are a couple I don't understand.


-Proof of income: the landlord/agent has the right to request proof of income (my employer will provide this for me)
-Job Contract (I don't have a contract I am a permanent employee, is there some special meaning to this?)
-Copy of the last Avis d'imposition (this appears to be a tax form, will my US return suffice?)
-RIB (I have seen mention of this, but I have no idea what it is)
Any insight would be helpful. Also, if I a missing something it would be nice to know that too.
Thanks,
Chris

dmu

Hi, the landlord not only has the right to request proof of income, but systematically demands it. He/she won't rent to a household whose monthly income isn't 3-4 times the monthly rent. This is to protect the landlord from non-payment of rent as it's very difficult in France to evict tenants...
If your employer is providing this proof, this probably means the Job Contract since you won't have any pay slips yet to prove your income.
If you've never filled in a French Déclaration de Revenus, then you've never received an Avis d'Imposition. If they really insist, show them your latest US return, but I imagine this only applies to potential French tenants, to confirm the previous year's income.
RIB means "Relevé d'Identité Bancaire" which is to be found in your cheque book, or the bank will issue some. You'll need several, to send to the Social Security, among others. It contains all your bank details to enable Direct Debits or Transfers to be made. Presumably you've opened a French Bank Account to receive your salary?
Hope all this helps, and don't hesitate to come back with more questions!

cshurt64

Thanks dmu,
this certainly helps. Unfortunately, I have a bit of a catch-22 in that it doesn't appear you can open a bank account without having a valid address. I'm sure I'll be able to get around that, but for the moment I'm stuck waiting for my visa to be finalized which is another requirement for a bank account or so I have read.
I was really hoping that during my next business trip to Loches that I could start taking care of some of the administrative details, but I can see that this may not be possible.
Chris

dmu

Others who have been in this situation will be able to advise. Hope you find a solution soon!

Chatter Static

HSBC they have a branch in Memphis "yes it's a fair drive from Knoxville" and will be more adaptable in France for a noob there may be a closer one in a neighbouring state, it's a stop gap due to the lack of branches here but it will help the op get on his feet. Open a US dollar account and a Euro account at the same time for the time being it can continue to run at the US address. HSBC are pretty flexible.

cyrian

Hi Chris,
I would give the same advice to a Brit coming to France also.
Forget all about the way you would do things back home - this is France.
You have to learn how it is done in France and do it that way.
You will need to bring birth certificates; marriage certificate; bank statements; tax statements and payslips (USA) as well as passports in case the bank needs to see them.
You can download a RIB from your internet banking or at an ATM.
The French use them all the time.
If you go onto the Credit Agricole website they tell you what paperwork you need to open an account. It will be the same for other banks.
Banking in France - Crédit Agricole
I rented a flat in France many years ago for my daughter.
We needed to have an address to open a bank account.
We needed to have a bank account to rent an apartment.
We needed to get insurance before we could rent the apartment.
It needed a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between the three offices to get it done but we did it.
Good luck

Novocastrian

+1. That's the way we did it. The local branch in Canada is no distance, but I'd have to drive 60 km in France to the nearest branch there. Luckily you can do all your banking online so no biggy.

Turban Explorer

I am reading this with growing concern....

When I move to France in November I was expecting that I could just show bank statements and UK or Australian addresses and an Aussie tax return. I won't have a job contract as I am retired and live off interest and investments. Would landlords just allow you to pay a 6 month contract in cash in one lump sum?

Someone mentioned needing insurance to rent a house. Insurance for what please?

Chatter Static

If your renting a Gite it shouldn't be an issue not many landlords are going to want to rent out a unfurnished property for just six months a lot more proof of income is needed because of how hard it is to remove non paying tenants here and you can't turf them out in the winter to top it off.

dmu

Insurance for any damage caused by you or to you in the lodgings, which also includes civil liability for you in general. All routine and straightforward (except the to-ing and fro-ing mentioned above).

Turban Explorer

I wanted to rent unfurnished with a pet in tow whilst I look around for a house I want to buy.

Tweedpipe

If you cannot find unfurnished - or provide the necessary documentation required by a landlord for up to 6 months - you may wish to reconsider a Gite, as many in Aude (or elswhere) allow and cater for pets. This is indicated by a dog pictogram in the Gites de France 'bible'. You might even find this advantageous as the Gite owner may 'sit' for your cats if you should wish a day or two away elsewhere.
You shouldn't need additional insurance either.

cshurt64

Great tip Chatter Static,
I think I will look into that, anything I can do to grease the skids will really help.
Chris

Chatter Static

Well you are going to have to produce lots of papers and pay a tidy deposit which you probably are not going to see again, It's a landlords market due to the protection tenants have.

I found them super helpful as it's a bank with a more UK approach to customer service "so you get a free coffee whilst they shaft you" they do make migration easier in either direction.

EuroTrash

French employment law stipulates that all employers must provide an employment contract to every employee. It doesn't mean that you are on 'contract' work. Your employment contract is a very important legal document which confirms whether you are a permanent or fixed term employee, your salary, your working conditions, etc.

If you're going to be resident in France, and employed to work in France, this would normally mean that your employer must employ you in accordance with French employment law, ie provide a contract that accords with French employment legislation, pay French social security contributions for you, etc. There are cases where this doesn't apply, but just a heads up to make sure that you and your employer know the law and are in the clear. Living in France, working for an employer in different country and trying to bypass paying into the French social security system is a no-no under normal circumstances.