That’s very helpful. Yet another thing people wouldn’t naturally think of. Kind of odd that they take out insurance on you in case you don’t pay rent, yet when you offered to pay for the year up front they still weren’t interested – makes no sense to me!
Thank you!
Many tenancies/leases are for three years and landlords often ask for a rent guarantor in case of default, in addition it is illegal for tenants to be evicted in the winter (Nov to March) so it’s easy to understand why landlords take out insurance.
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But… the tenant can give the appropriate notice and leave earlier…
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If you pay a year up front the proprietor is not allowed to ask you for a caution/deposit in addition to this. So they know that they could find it hard to reclaim any money for damages at the end of the rental.
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French legislation focuses on protecting the tenant, so it does not permit evictions during winter, it does not allow a landlord to ask for a year’s rent in advance, etc etc.
It may take you a while to get used to how tightly regulated many aspects are in France compared to the US. You have already been introduced to French succession law and French rental law and I am sure you will find other examples too. At first it will make no sense to you but the longer you live here, gradually you will start to understand what is behind the legislation. (Or not!) But, whether you agree with it or whether you continue to think it is stupid, that is the law and the net result is that you often have to approach things differently in France.
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help.garantme.fr
you could check Garantme to see if you are eligable(they act as guarantor for unpaid rents )
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@movetoFrance Just thinking aloud… with 2 children going to school… perhaps an idea to figure out where preferred schools might be situated… and then look for lodgings nearby… ???
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I believe it is allowed (bit of an urban myth that it’s not possibly?) but, see my comment above yours, it disadvantages the landlord so they don’t want to.
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I seem to recall reading somewhere that it is illegal for a landlord to ask for it, but not illegal to accept it if the prospective tenant offers. But that is splitting hairs, the main thing as you say is the landlord is not obliged to accept it and since it is not to their overall advantage they tend not to.
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I strongly recommend Duolingo for learning just about any laguage. It is free and fun…compared to a class. I always got stuck once the passe compose was introduced, but now I am flying along! I have been studying nearly everyday for 3+ years. The web address is:
Thereis also an app.
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Are you finding it promotes conversational skills? I tried it way back when and rapidly got frustrated as everything was single sentances, and rather dull vocabulary.
Perhaps it improves as one progresses? Presumably after 3 years you are at the C level now.
I wonder if it’s worth looking at some of the internet networks designed for this sort of thing? ‘Wwoofing’, house/animal sitting, etc… Some friends of ours (including their son) lived in a house rent-free near us for an English lady that went to the UK for a year to do a course - all they had to do was cover the bills and look after the house, garden and animals (although there was a lot of work in that - she had horses and a lot of land).
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What is helping my conversational is practicing with my sister. I found the speaking part of Duolingo not adequate, to be honest. However, I listen to French radio and I am finding it easier to understand what is being said. As for me speaking, I feel that will real.y kick i. Once I am in France.
This is definitely one of the first things I look for on the map: Where are the local schools? Where is the nearest boulangerie? Where is the nearest supermarket, pharmacy, etc etc
With all of the rules/laws between seasonal rentals, long term, etc, it had me wondering what made the difference between all of those – is it something that can be changed as needed (say, printing out a different contract to fit the case)? Or is it something more permanent, like the way the property has been registered with the local government?
Basically, could I persuade a gite owner to whip up a long term contract for me or is that not really a possibility?
Very unlikely. Unless you happened across one who had decided to swap from running a gîte to managing long term rentals anyway. They are different business models, and zero incentive for a gîte owner to do this apart from long winter lets.
Gîtes are generally very well equipped, tastefully decorated, and maintained to a high standard. That will have required significant investment. And the pay-back is being able to charge good weekly rental prices that are generally far above what can be charged for an equivalent long terms rental (often a week in a gîte is the same as a month in an equivalent rental). On top of that if you change contracts then your property will have protected tenants in it - which may not be what they want or are prepared to consider.
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I had a schoolfriend who was ‘terrible’ at languages in the classroom. He had a gap year in Paris and was fluent in a few months (with a thick Parisan accent). Your lad will be fine when he gets there.
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Regardless of legality there are plenty of long let gites from September ish.
It’s a bit of pain as you don’t have anything official like an edf bill with your name on it thus it’s a bit more difficult for getting in the system. But it’s the simplest way of finding somewhere to live to begin with.
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