According to The Local, finding a home to rent in France usually involves putting together a large dossier of documents and providing a financial guarantor, known as a garant. A guarantor is a third party who agrees to pay the rent if the tenant cannot, giving the landlord greater financial security. This is a standard part of the rental process regardless of age or financial circumstances, largely because French housing laws heavily favour tenants and restrict evictions.
Although French law does not technically require a personal guarantor to live in France, most landlords and real estate agencies demand a local guarantor with a French income equal to three or four times the monthly rent. Landlords often reject overseas guarantors due to language barriers, non-standardised documents, and the complications of navigating foreign laws and legal proceedings if rent goes unpaid. However, tenants facing this issue have several alternative options available.
One alternative is the free government-backed rental scheme known as VISALE, which applies to students aged 18 to 30 or qualifying young workers. Private sector employees over 31 can also qualify if their net monthly salary is €1,710 or less, if they have been transferred by their employer, or if they meet certain social criteria. The VISALE guarantee covers the first three years of occupancy and applies only if rent falls under regional caps.
Another option is using a bank guarantee, where the tenant places six to 12 months of rent into a blocked account, though this requires a French bank account and can take a long time to set up. Tenants can also pay for online guarantor platforms to act as local financial guarantors without requiring residency or family in France. For instance, the site GarantMe charges around 4.5 percent of annual rent, with a minimum fee of €150 per year, and issues guarantees within a day for rents up to €90,000.
Source: The Local. Read the original report ↗