Only 6% of online property ads in France fully comply with the country’s legal requirements for real estate rental listings, according to the results of a recent study undertaken by the French consumer association CLCV (consommation, logement, cadre de vie, or consumption, housing and living environment).
The data was collected during August and September from over 1,100 listings in three major cities — Paris, Lyon and Lille — and from 5 different sites. The latter were the professional platforms of Citya, FNAIM and Foncia as well as sites for individual users, PAP and LeBonCoin.
Since Jul. 1, French law requires every real estate listing to include certain information, no matter if it was placed by a professional or an individual. The research found that none of the listings on PAP or LBC were wholly compliant and only 17% were compliant on the professional realtors’ sites. Foncia had the highest percentage of all the sites surveyed, with 31% of all ads compliant, and Citya came in second at 8%.
On average, ads were 73% complete in terms of detail across the sites surveyed. Foncia led the way on 90%, followed by PAP on 83%. Listings on FNAIM, an association of France-based property professionals, were only 62% complete, the same percentage as LBC. Among the most frequently omitted requirements were information on energy costs, rent control measures in the cities concerned and security deposit.
As well as the above, adverts must stipulate the living area of the property, whether it is furnished or unfurnished, the municipality (and district) where it is located, monthly rent with details of any additional charges, theoretical heating requirements, and intermediation and inventory fees (including tax). From Jan. 1, listings must also specify any risks, natural (mining, seismic, receding coastline, etc.) or technological, that affect the accommodation.