With the end of the “shield” put in place by the Government, rent increases are no longer capped. And donors will take advantage of the revision of a national index to make increases.
In a few days, Tuesday October 15, 2024, INSEE should publish the rent reference index (IRL) for the third quarter of 2024. This macroeconomic indicator is very important, because its value determines the revision applicable to housing rents, which they are rented empty or furnished. For the more than twelve million French tenants and their landlords, this is therefore a crucial deadline.
The IRL is calculated based on the average change in consumer prices over the last twelve months, excluding tobacco and rent. This index is therefore normally correlated with inflation. However, in order to avoid an explosion in the cost of housing over the past two years, Parliament has capped the annual variation of rental indicesof which the IRL is a part, at 3.50% maximum until 1er quarter 2024.
Although this capping system has ended, inflation has fortunately slowed down significantly over the past year and the change in IRL for the second quarter of 2024, compared to that of 2023, was “only” +3, 26%. And good news, based on the price evolution observed in recent months, the variation in the rental reference index for the third quarter of the year should be even more measured, around +2.5%.
Concretely, which will be affected by the publication of the IRL on 3e quarter 2024 ? As part of a residential lease for empty or furnished accommodation, the landlord can revise the monthly rent once a yearif a clause in the rental contract so provides. The maximum revision rate is then equal to the annual variation of the IRL for the reference quarter, mentioned on the lease. And in the absence of a precise indication in the contract, it is the quarter of the last index published in the Official Journal on the date of signature of the lease which serves as a reference.
Thus, tenants whose lease is explicitly based on the IRL of the third quarter of the year, or whose signature date (not to be confused with the effective date) is between mid-October and mid-January, will probably receive a request for a review of their rent from October 15. Note that this revaluation of the rent can be requested for one year after the revision date, but cannot be retroactive : if the owner delays sending it to the tenant, he can then lose several months of revision.
Please note: For accommodation whose Energy Performance Diagnostic (DPE) classification is F or G, the rent review is prohibited if the lease has been signed, renewed or tacitly renewed since August 24, 2022 in mainland France, or since the 1st July 2024 in Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte. If you are a tenant, remember to carefully check the energy classification of your home and the date of signing or renewal of your lease.