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How to pay rent?
Whatever the type of landlord, it is important to respect certain rules to avoid any dispute or conflict. Here’s what you need to know.
Paying rent: when, how, how much?
Paying on a monthly frequence is the most common
Terms of payment are laid down in your lease agreement. In general, the rent is paid every month, but you can agree on a different periodicity, such as quarterly payment for instance.
For a student residence, the payment is usually made on the first days of the month. This also coincides with the payment of the CAF aid. These are paid around the 5th of the month. With a private owner, it is generally him who decides the date of payment of the rent. But you can also agree on this together.
Means of payment
Once again, the way in which rent is paid can vary depending on the landlord. For accommodation in a student residence, the rent is most often paid by direct debit from your bank account. With a private landlord, there are more possibilities: cheques, transfers, cash (if the rent does not exceed 1000€).
In all cases, it should be noted that the lessor has no right to impose a means of payment on you. If your landlord insists that the payment be made in cash, it probably means that he does not declare his activity as a lessor and your rental. This greatly weakens the value of the lease and may well put you in default.
The amount paid to the landlord
The rent you will pay depends of course on many factors.
Firstly, the amount paid to the landlord includes the rent AND the charges. This is a point to remember. For example, the extra charges are higher if the accommodation is poorly insulated or already equipped (Internet, electricity, etc.).
Secondly, the rent depends on the type of accommodation: higher in a private residence or individual apartment, more affordable in a shared flat or rented against services,...
Finally, the location of the accommodation obviously has an influence on the rent: between 800 and 900€ for a studio in Paris, around 700€ in Lyon and Bordeaux, less than 500€ in Clermont...
The practicalities regarding the amount paid are fairly straightforward:
- the breakdown rent + charges must be clearly stated on the rental agreement.
- the landlord has no right to ask you to pay several months' rent in advance
- you can freely ask your landlord for a rent receipt (which is very often requested during administrative procedures, such as a request for assistance from the CAF for example)
Paying rent: possible disputes
Late payment
You should avoid finding yourself in this position as much as possible, but it can happen. If you have a delay in payment, don’t put your head in the sand! The first thing to do is to reach out in good faith to your landlord to apologize and explain that you intend to pay as soon as possible. It’s important that it doesn’t tarnish your relationship. Not only is being in bad terms with your landlord unpleasant, it can also have consequences on the refund of your security deposit. Oh and of course… pay your rent ASAP!
Default of payment
It seems pretty obvious, but you can’t be exempted from paying rent, for any reason whatsoever. Even if you feel like your landlord doesn’t meet his obligations (for instance, if he doesn’t get renovations done), it’s no use protest by not paying rent, it will always backfire on you.
If you stop paying rent, your lessor is going to start by reminding it to you, and will then send you a formal notice. If the CAF transfers housing allowance to your account, they’ll start sending it directly to your landlord instead. The landlord can call on a bailiff that’s going to order you to pay your rent in a 2 months delay, past which he can declare revocation of the lease agreement. If your landlord decides to take legal action, you can be expelled from the dwelling.
Simply put: not paying rent is never a good idea.
Good practices for paying rent with Studapart
The Studapart resource centre
Sometimes you may be unsure about information about your rent. Method of payment, something about service charges, the contents of the rental contract: all this can be useful to you. Feel free to check out our resource centre. It is full of articles dealing with a large number of subjects relating to your rental. A mine of information that can be very useful if you're a little lost!
A trusted relationship with your landlord
Studapart acts as a third party between you and your renter. Our team of experts speaks several languages and is available 6 days a week to answer your questions on paying rent. Our community of 36,000 owners trusts our platform and disputes seldom happen. But in the payment of the rent, Studapart is also there to find a quick solution between the landlord and the tenant.