The innovation of the French tenancy law: the ALUR Act

Asimina Tsalpatourou

Keywords

tenancy law; housing market; ALUR Act; renovation; rent control; guarantees. 

Abstract

The French tenancy law is based on the Act 89-462 of the 6th July 1989 for the improvement of tenancy relations. Overall this Act can be considered as a well-balanced act that protects the interests of both tenants and landlords. However, tenants are still the weak party of tenancy contracts, even if they are protected at every step of their relations with landlords. Therefore the 1989 Act needed to be reviewed in order to take into consideration the evolution of the legal framework and of the housing market in France and, above all, the rights of tenants.

This consideration has led to the so-called “ALUR” Act reform in 2014, in order to review the relations between landlords and tenants. The main goal of the legislator is both to make the 1989 Act more functional and renovate several aspects of the tenancy law, by introducing for example a rent control mechanism and a universal guarantee for dwellings. Although those new legal provisions are ambitious, their implementation seems quite challenging.
 

Table of contents

1. Historical development of the tenancy law in France
1.1. A slow evolution of the French tenancy law
1.2. The tenancy law under the 1989 Act, an Act encouraging the increase of the dwellings
2. The reform of the Tenancy Law: the ALUR Act
2.1. An effort to innovate the tenancy law
2.2. More documents and guarantees for the conclusion of the lease
2.3. A universal guarantee for dwellings
2.4. The control of rental fees
2.5. The rent control
3. Conclusion
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