Some searches teach you more than others.
A client asked me to help find a studio to rent in Paris for her mother.
On paper, the mission looked simple: a very precise geographic area, but a matching budget and no crazy requirements.
In practice, it was a rather frustrating search, with a record number of visits, and it took much longer than expected.
Where it got stuck
Price was not the obstacle: the family was ready to offer a fair rent, in line with the market. The real question was how to get the file accepted.
Her mother had a very small pension, so her income was too low to qualify for a main-residence lease, even though her children were covering the rent.
That is the problem with a standard file: landlords and agencies look at the person who will live in the flat. Who actually pays is not what decides.
The usual solutions, and why they didn’t work here
I went through them one by one:
- A joint guarantee from her children. It did not work.
- A guarantor. In my experience, landlords mostly accept this for students.
- Paying rent in advance. It is hardly done anymore.
Each door closed. I will be honest: there were days when I wondered whether we would find anything at all.
What finally worked
The only solution was a lease governed by the Civil Code, for a second home, supported by her daughter’s and son-in-law’s file.
We did it openly. Everything was put on the table with the agency, and I did not want to build a made-up story to make a file fit. The agency knew the real situation, and we found a solution together.
When the lease was agreed, I felt a real satisfaction. Not because it was easy, but because it was done in the right way.
The details that made it work
A Civil Code lease did not make the file easy by itself. Several points still had to be solved:
- The financial guarantees. The couple had to offer sufficient guarantees, and we still could not avoid subscribing to a paid guarantee from a specialist company, the kind that acts as your guarantor in exchange for an annual fee.
- A proof of address in her name. I suggested to my client to put the electricity contract in her mother’s name, so that her mother would hold a document in her own name at the flat’s address.
- The occupant. We had the lease state that her mother would be the occupant.
None of this was a trick. Each point was on the table with the agency.
If you want the official list of documents a landlord can ask for, and the cases where it does not apply, I explain it in my guide on the rental application file.
How I work
I do not promise a flat. I tell you what is possible with your file, and what is not. When the usual route does not fit, I look for another one, and I say it plainly to the agency or the landlord.
I am not a lawyer. If your situation needs legal advice, I will say so.
Your file doesn’t fit the usual boxes? Book a free 30-minute call and tell me about your situation.