What notice period to leave your home: 1 month or 3 months?

Unfurnished rental: three months as a rule, one month by exception

For unfurnished rentals, the tenant may give notice at any time, without having to justify their decision, by observing a three-month notice period (Article 15 of the Act of 6 July 1989). This period is reduced to one month in the situations exhaustively listed by law:

• Dwelling located in a tight-supply area (areas defined by reference to Article 17 of the Act and listed by decree)
• Obtaining a first job
• Professional relocation
• Job loss
• New job following a job loss
• Tenant's state of health justifying a change of residence, confirmed by a medical certificate
• Tenant receiving the RSA (active solidarity income) or the disabled adults' allowance (AAH)
• Tenant who has been allocated social housing
• Tenant benefiting from a protection order or whose spouse, PACS partner or cohabiting partner is the subject of prosecution, an alternative measure to prosecution or a conviction, even non-final, for violence within the couple or against a child usually residing with them (ground added by Act No. 2020-936 of 30 July 2020)

A ground to be justified from the moment the notice is sent

To benefit from the reduced notice period, the tenant must specify the ground invoked and attach the supporting document to their notice letter (employer's attestation, medical certificate, allocation decision, etc.). Failing that, Article 15 provides that the three-month notice period applies: a supporting document transmitted afterward does not regularize the notice already given.

For the ground based on domestic violence, the document to attach is a copy of the protection order issued by the family affairs judge (juge aux affaires familiales) or a copy of the criminal decision (prosecution, alternative measure to prosecution, or conviction, even non-final) targeting the perpetrator of the violence.

In a tight-supply area, no personal supporting document is required: it is sufficient to indicate in the notice that the dwelling is located in a municipality classified as a tight-supply area, referring to the applicable decree.

Furnished rental: one month in all cases

For furnished rentals, the tenant may terminate the lease at any time with a one-month notice period, without any condition of area or ground (Article 25-8 of the Act of 6 July 1989). No supporting document is required.

Form of the notice and starting point of the notice period

The notice must be served by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, by a bailiff's deed (commissaire de justice, formerly huissier), or delivered in person against a receipt or signed acknowledgment. The notice period runs from the day of receipt of the registered letter, the service of the deed, or the delivery in person: a letter not claimed by the landlord does not start the period, hence the value of the bailiff's deed in case of doubt.

Throughout the notice period, the tenant who has given notice remains liable for the rent and charges, unless the dwelling is re-let before the end of the period with the landlord's agreement. The security deposit cannot be offset against these final rent payments.

To check whether your municipality is in a tight-supply area, consult the list set by Decree No. 2013-392 of 10 May 2013 or the simulator available on Service-Public.fr. This list changes by decree (it was notably extended in 2023): check the situation of your municipality as of the date of your notice.