Rental Taxes and Fees - Long Term Rents

[zamber]

On realtor.com apartments rents are listed, but what other charges are there for the renter? For example, a listing will say €800 per month for a long term rent.

Is the "Fees payable by the tenant" one time or monthly? Do renters normally pay the the building fee? What is the tax?

[EuroTr@sh]

Rental is quoted montly.

There will normally be a one-off administration fee to the agent, for preparing the paterwork, carrying out the checks, etc.

If it's a shared apartment block there will normally be an annual charge towards the maintenance of public areas.

The tenant must take out tenant insurance and keep it in force for the duration of the tenancy.

The tenant pays the occupier tax.

The tenant sets up the utilities and pays the bills.

The tenant is also responsible for the routine servicing

of electrical or gas appliances, but the landlord is normally responsible for repairs.

Can't think of anything else, maybe others can?

[zamber]

When you mean "occupier tax" do you mean the "Taxe d'Habitation?"

Is it true they are getting rid of the Taxe d'Habitation?

When you mean charge for maintenance of public areas, is that paid by the tenant to the building association or the landlord?

[NormanH]

This is the site to consult on these matters:

https://www.anil.org/

[danny]

We charge our tenants for the cost of green space maintenance, about 7€ per month. We had the cost checked out with UNPI and with ANIL.

[danny]

With apartments, normally the charge is calculated by the association that looks after the building, in our case Foncia. Normally it usually works out at 55% for the tenant and 45% for the owner.

However the larger amounts is for the owner, for example we have upcoming bills for painting the outside of the buildings, 4,000€ per apartment.

So communal space is generally a cost for the tenant for things like cleaning and minor repairs etc.

eg, cost of running the communal VMC are for the tenants, whereas the replacement of the VMC for the owner.

[NormanH]

https://www.anil.org/fileadmin/ANIL/Editions_grand_public/serie_rapports_locatifs/charges_et_reparations.pdf

[zamber]

If you charge the tenant 55% for the association maintenance, and the rent is €1,000 euro per month, do you advertise the price to potential tenants for €1,550 per month?

The reason for my posts is the rents for apartments in France seem to low to be true.

[zamber]

[quote user="danny"]We charge our tenants for the cost of green space maintenance, about 7€ per month. We had the cost checked out with UNPI and with ANIL.[/quote]

Is that built into the advertised price? For example, does the advertisement is advertisement say €1,000 or €1,007?

I am trying to figure out all charges not in the rental price, except the habitation tax.

[danny]

When we advertise the apartment or house we always give the details of the rent and an estimate of the costs.

In relation to apartments it is not always possible to give exact figures as some of the costs are variable.

For example we get the water consumption bill once a year so we do not know until the end of the year how much the cost will be. We charge 10€ per month for maintenance of the heat pump, the actual bill can be less but generally more. The bin charges are included in the taxe fonciere so this cost is estimated by us and and adjustments are done at the end of the year

We have never met a french tenant that did not understand how the costs work , however it can seem difficult to understand if you are not French.

All costs should be associated by supporting invoices and if you are concerned then ANIL the french rental authority will resolve all problems for both tenants and owners. we have used them on several occasions.

Rents appear low depending on ones income and the area.

We have a tenant starting on the 1.10.2020 with a rent of 1200€ and associated costs of 97€ per month.

55% of association costs would never amount to 55% of the monthly rent.

The apartment indicated above has a annual cost of 1320€ per year, add to that 321€ for bin charges and and estimate for water and maintenance of the heating system it comes to 97€ per month. Any differences are resolved at the end of each year.

If you have questions ask the owner or the agent.

Hope the above helps.

[EuroTr@sh]

It sounds rather as if you are trying to work out the maximum rent you can afford, but it doesn't really work like that.

Normally for a rental agreement, your monthly salary needs to be at least three times the monthly rent.

So the "extras" should never be a make or break issue for a renter. They should be easily affordable because the renter will have two thirds of their salary left after paying the rent.

[Lori]

Plus, if you are looking in the Île-de-France, you will have a difficult time finding any owner or agency that will accept a tenant with a salary of less than three times the monthly rent.  Our experience is that most of them do include the 'charges' when calculating the required salary.  Whether or not that is the legal way, that is the way most of them operated during our searches.

Some would tell you that, others would just ask for proof of income, etc. and if they didn't like what you sent or got better docs from someone else, they just never spoke to you again.

Also, nearly all leases will include a clause stating that 'charges' are reviewed annually and can be changed annually.  There is also an indice that is adjusted annually by the government that gives a percentage of increase that each owner/agency can use to raise your rent - each year, legally.  It is a low percentage rate, but it is totally legal and is often written into the lease.