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Compliance & Regulation

Rent Regulation

Understand how FairePlace handles French rent control (encadrement des loyers) and rent evolution decrees.

Overview

In designated zones (zones tendues), French law restricts how much landlords can charge for rent. FairePlace automates these checks when creating or updating leases.

Two mechanisms apply:

Mechanism	Law	Scope
Encadrement des loyers (rent cap)	Loi Alur / Loi Elan	Paris, Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Bordeaux, and other designated cities
Decret d'evolution des loyers (rent evolution decree)	Annual decree	All zones tendues (~1,149 municipalities)

How rent caps work

In cities with rent caps, every rental unit has a reference rent per m² that depends on:

• Location (postal code / neighborhood)
• Property type (apartment, house)
• Number of rooms
• Construction period
• Furnished vs unfurnished

Three reference values are published annually:

Value	Description	Lease field
Loyer de reference	Median reference rent	reference_rent_per_m2
Loyer de reference majore	Maximum rent (+20%)	reference_rent_increased_per_m2
Loyer de reference minore	Minimum rent (-30%)	reference_rent_decreased_per_m2

The rent must not exceed reference_rent_increased_per_m2 × area unless a complement de loyer (rent supplement) is justified.

Check rent regulation for a location

Use the rent regulation check endpoint to determine which regulations apply:

Code
curl -X POST https://api.faireplace.com/api/legislative-zones/rent-regulation/check \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"postal_code": "75011"}'

Code
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "zone-1122aabb-3344-5566-7788-99aabbccddee",
      "name": "Paris - Zone 1",
      "postal_codes": ["75001", "75002", "75003", "75004"],
      "is_zone_tendue": true,
      "has_rent_cap": true,
      "reference_rent_per_m2": 25.50,
      "reference_rent_increased_per_m2": 30.60,
      "reference_rent_decreased_per_m2": 17.85,
      "rent_evolution_decree": true,
      "irl_index": 145.47,
      "last_updated": "2026-01-15"
    }
  ]
}

Lease validation

When creating a lease, FairePlace validates the rent against the zone's reference values:

Code
curl -X POST https://api.faireplace.com/api/leases \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "estate_id": "<estate_uuid>",
    "lease_type_id": "<lease_type_uuid>",
    "rent_amount": 1500.00,
    "is_subject_to_reference_rent_cap": true,
    "reference_rent_per_m2": 25.50,
    "reference_rent_increased_per_m2": 30.60
  }'

Validation error example

If the rent exceeds the cap:

Code
{
  "error": {
    "code": 422,
    "type": "RENT_CAP_EXCEEDED",
    "message": "Rent exceeds the maximum reference rent for this zone",
    "details": {
      "rent_amount": 1500.00,
      "max_allowed": 1377.00,
      "reference_rent_increased_per_m2": 30.60,
      "area": 45.0,
      "zone": "Paris - Zone 1"
    }
  }
}

Rent evolution decree

In zones tendues, the rent for a new tenant cannot exceed the previous tenant's last rent, adjusted by the IRL index. This applies even in areas without rent caps.

FairePlace tracks:

• base_rent_amount — The previous rent (or initial rent for first lease)
• revision_index_type — IRL for residential leases
• next_revision_date — When the next annual revision is due

IRL rent revision

Annual rent revisions use the IRL (Indice de Reference des Loyers) published by INSEE:

Code
New rent = Previous rent × (New IRL / Previous IRL)

FairePlace calculates this automatically:

Code
curl -X POST https://api.faireplace.com/api/leases/{lease_id}/revision \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY"

Code
{
  "previous_rent": 950.00,
  "previous_irl": 142.06,
  "new_irl": 145.47,
  "new_rent": 972.82,
  "revision_date": "2027-04-01",
  "next_revision_date": "2028-04-01"
}

Legal references

FairePlace implements the following French regulations:

Rule	Legal basis	What FairePlace does
Encadrement des loyers	Loi ALUR (Art. 17), Loi Elan (Art. 140)	Validates rent against reference rent per m² by zone
IRL revision cap	Art. 17-1 Loi 89-462	Calculates maximum rent increase using INSEE IRL index
Deposit limit	Art. 22 Loi 89-462	Enforces 1 month (unfurnished) or 2 months (furnished) maximum
Zone tendue rules	Décret n°2023-822	Checks if postal code falls in a tight housing market zone
Rent evolution decree	Annual decree (zones tendues)	Limits re-rental rent to previous tenant's rent + IRL
Notice period	Art. 15 Loi 89-462	1 month in zone tendue, 3 months otherwise
Recoverable charges	Décret n°87-713	Validates charge categories against the legal list

Key legal articles

• Loi n°89-462 du 6 juillet 1989 — Fundamental law governing residential leases
• Loi ALUR (2014) — Introduced rent caps (encadrement des loyers) and standardized lease contracts
• Loi Elan (2018) — Extended rent caps experimentally to additional cities
• Décret n°2023-822 — Updated list of municipalities in zone tendue
• Décret n°87-713 — Exhaustive list of recoverable charges from tenants

Disclaimer: FairePlace implements regulatory calculations based on published legal texts and official data sources (INSEE, prefectoral decrees). These automated checks assist in compliance but do not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a qualified legal professional or your local ADIL (Agence Départementale d'Information sur le Logement).

Complement de loyer (rent supplement)

If the property has exceptional characteristics (terrace, exceptional view, premium equipment), the rent can exceed the reference cap with a documented justification:

Code
curl -X PATCH https://api.faireplace.com/api/leases/{lease_id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "rent_supplement": 200.00,
    "rent_supplement_justification": "Terrasse de 25m2 avec vue panoramique sur la Seine"
  }'

The supplement must be explicitly justified and appears as a separate line in the lease document.

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Related

• Rent Regulation & Rent Control — Full endpoint reference
• Lease Overview — Lease lifecycle and compliance
• Energy Diagnosis — DPE requirements
• Leases API — Full endpoint reference