You are looking for a furnished apartment and are wondering what will be included? There is indeed a basic minimum that is required by law which is good to know about. Beyond that, it is up to the discretion of the landlord what he/she includes.
In general, furnished apartments are better equipped than this bare minimum. Landlords have a personal interest in having their homes nicely furnished and well equipped, to have their choice of the best tenants.
The Loi Alur stipulates the mandatory list of 11 items that must be provided by the landlord for each apartment rented as “furnished”. The decree of the Alur law of August 5th, 2015 went into effect on September 1st, 2015.
These items must be in the apartment when the tenant moves in and, in working order of course.
- Beds and bedding including duvets or blankets
- System to block out the light in the rooms destined for sleeping (blinds, shutters, or curtains)
- Stove top burners
- Oven or microwave
- Refrigerator including a freezer compartment
- Dishes
- Cutlery
- Table and chairs
- Shelving
- Lights
- Cleaning equipment
Although not on this list, some landlords will include linens and have them professionally washed between tenants. Some will buy new linens for each new tenant. And some will leave it to the tenant to buy them on their own. This is a question to ask in advance, as you will not want to be surprised on move-in day, and have to run out to shop for linens. If the latter is the case, make sure to ask for the exact bed sizes. Mattresses in France are of different widths and different lengths, of course. When an agent refers to a “double” bed, it could have two different widths and two different lengths.