Key takeaways
- The French mobility lease (bail mobilité) is, under Article 25-12 of the law of 6 July 1989, a short-term rental contract for a furnished home, open only to a tenant in vocational training, higher education, apprenticeship, internship, civic service, a job transfer or a temporary work assignment.
- It runs from one to ten months, non-renewable, with no tacit rollover (non renouvelable et non reconductible); its duration can be changed once by amendment, without exceeding ten months in total (Article 25-14). The one exception, still awaiting a decree according to Service-public.fr: employment-focused residences (résidences à vocation d’emploi), one week to eighteen months.
- The landlord cannot require a security deposit, and the rent cannot be revised during the lease (Articles 25-17 and 25-16).
- The tenant can leave at any time with one month’s notice (Article 25-15); according to ANIL, the landlord cannot end the contract before its term.
An engineer arrives in France on a four-month assignment that may be extended, and asks to rent your furnished two-room flat. He does not want a one-year lease, and neither do you: you plan to take the flat back at the end of the year. The bail mobilité was written for exactly this case. It is a short contract, regulated word by word by French housing law, and mistakes are costly: leave out the “mobility lease” statement, the duration or the reason, and the contract switches to a different regime.
By the end, you will know whether this contract fits that tenant, and which statements it cannot leave out.
Bail mobilité: what French law says about the mobility lease
The mobility lease was created by the 2018 ÉLAN law, ANIL recalls. It sits in its own part of the law of 6 July 1989, the French statute on relations between landlords and tenants: Title I ter, Articles 25-12 to 25-18, which covers furnished homes let under a mobility lease.
The definition is in Article 25-12: the mobility lease is “a short-term rental contract for a furnished home within the meaning of Article 25-4, to a tenant who can show, on the date the lease takes effect, that they are in vocational training, in higher education, on an apprenticeship contract, on an internship, in voluntary civic service […], on a job transfer or on a temporary assignment as part of their professional activity.” All quotations from the law and from official French sites in this article are our translations; the links go to the French originals.
Three notions decide the rest:
- Furnished home: under Article 25-4, a decent home “equipped with furniture in sufficient number and quality for the tenant to sleep, eat and live there properly”. The list of required furniture is set by decree.
- Mandatory rules (ordre public): the title governing the mobility lease “is of public policy”, which in French law means a contract clause cannot override it (Article 25-12).
- Start date: it is on this date, not at signature, that the tenant must be in one of the listed situations. Service-public.fr notes that the start date of the lease “can differ from the date the lease is signed”.
Mobility lease conditions: who can sign, and what the contract must say
The list in Article 25-12 is closed: seven situations, not one more. According to Service-public.fr, the tenant “must prove their situation with a document” (apprenticeship contract, internship or training agreement), and there is an official list of supporting documents the landlord can ask for.
The contract, for its part, is framed by Article 25-13, which requires a written lease and sets its contents, including: names of landlord and tenant, start date, duration, living area, rent, the reason that qualifies the tenant for a mobility lease, and a statement informing the tenant that the landlord is prohibited from requiring a security deposit. The contract must also state that it is a mobility lease.
That is where the trap lies. The same article provides that without the “mobility lease” statement, the duration or the reason, the contract is governed by Title I bis, the regime for furnished homes let as a main residence. One drafting slip turns your few-month contract into an ordinary furnished lease.
Bail mobilité duration, amendment and end of the lease
Article 25-14 sets the rule: the mobility lease “is concluded for a minimum of one month and a maximum of ten months, non-renewable, with no tacit rollover”.
Only one adjustment is allowed: the duration “can be changed once by amendment without the total duration of the contract exceeding ten months”.
Since 28 November 2025, the same article provides an exception, introduced by law no. 2025-1129 of 26 November 2025: when the home is part of an employment-focused residence (résidence à vocation d’emploi), defined in Article L. 631-16-1 of the French Construction and Housing Code, the mobility lease can run from one week to eighteen months, and the amendment can take the total up to eighteen months. Service-public.fr states that “a decree must be published” for this new rule to come into force. Outside those residences, the rule remains one to ten months.
The lease can end in three ways:
- At the term: according to Service-public.fr, “the owner does not need to give notice to the tenant to end the mobility lease”.
- Before the term, at the tenant’s initiative: the tenant can terminate “at any time, provided they respect a notice period of one month” (Article 25-15).
- Before the term, at the landlord’s initiative: according to ANIL, “the landlord cannot end the contract before its term”. If the tenant fails in their obligations, the landlord can ask a judge to terminate the lease.
What if everyone wants to carry on? Article 25-14 answers: if the parties sign a new lease for the same furnished home, “this new lease is subject to the provisions of Title I bis”. It is a furnished main-residence lease, not a second mobility lease.
What the mobility lease forbids the landlord
On money, the law leaves nothing to the contract.
No security deposit. Article 25-17 fits in one line: “No security deposit can be required by the landlord.” The owner may still ask for a guarantor, says Service-public.fr, and the tenant can then use, among other options, the Visale guarantee.
No rent revision. “The rent is freely set and cannot be revised during the lease” (Article 25-16). Free, except in high-demand areas (zones tendues): ANIL notes that the rent is set freely “unless the home is in a high-demand area”, and also points to the rent caps that apply in the areas where rent control is being trialled.
Flat-rate charges. Service charges are recovered “as a flat fee paid together with the rent”, which “cannot give rise to any later top-up or adjustment” (Article 25-18). The amount must not be “manifestly disproportionate” to the latest statement of charges.
No joint liability between flatmates. A flatshare is possible, with a single lease or one lease per flatmate, according to Service-public.fr. But Article 25-13 deems unwritten “any clause providing for joint liability between the co-tenants or their guarantors”.
Example: a mobility lease timeline
Back to the engineer on assignment. The dates below are an example; the rules applied are those of Articles 25-14 and 25-15.
| Step | Date (example) | Rule applied |
|---|---|---|
| Lease takes effect | 1 February 2027 | The tenant proves the assignment on this date |
| Initial term | 31 May 2027 | 4 months, between 1 and 10 |
| Amendment | signed in May 2027 | 6-month extension, the only change allowed |
| Term after amendment | 30 November 2027 | 4 + 6 = 10 months, the legal maximum |
| Tenant’s notice | received 15 September 2027 | One month’s notice |
| End of notice | 15 October 2027 | The tenant leaves |
The notice is counted as in the example given by Service-public.fr: a letter received on 5 September starts a one-month notice running “until 5 October at midnight”. The period starts on receipt of the registered letter, service by a court officer (commissaire de justice) or hand delivery (Article 25-15).
For you as owner, rent and charges remain due until 15 October, unless another tenant moves in earlier with your agreement.
For tenants: what you will be asked for
No security deposit when you move in. You will, however, be asked to prove your situation on the start date: prepare the document behind your reason (internship agreement, apprenticeship contract, assignment letter) along with the usual papers, listed in our article on the rental application and its required documents.
To leave, an email is not enough: Service-public.fr accepts only a registered letter (an electronic one under conditions), a court officer’s deed or hand delivery against a receipt.
Mobility lease vs fixed-days lease: what changes
The mobility lease rents a furnished home for a continuous period. The fixed-days lease (bail à jours définis) meets a different need: fixed days each week, the same throughout the lease. It comes under a different text: it is “governed by Articles 1714 et seq. of the French Civil Code”. It runs for 3 months minimum, and 9 years at most per period. Our comparison mobility lease or part-time rental puts the two side by side, budget included.
What to check before signing a mobility lease
- The reason: check that it is one of the seven situations in Article 25-12, and that it will be true on the start date, not only at signature.
- The statements: the “mobility lease” statement, the duration and the reason must appear in the contract, otherwise it falls under Title I bis.
- The duration: set it with the amendment in mind; you only get one, and the total stays capped at ten months.
- The flat-rate charges: base them on the latest statement, they will never be adjusted.
- The guarantee: no deposit; if you want security, ask for a guarantor.
Frequently asked questions about the bail mobilité
How long does a French mobility lease last?
Under Article 25-14 of the law of 6 July 1989, the mobility lease lasts from one to ten months. It cannot be renewed or rolled over. Its duration can be changed once by amendment, without the total exceeding ten months. In an employment-focused residence, the law of 26 November 2025 provides for one week to eighteen months, a rule that Service-public.fr says awaits a decree.
What are the conditions to sign a bail mobilité?
On the date the lease takes effect, the tenant must show they are in vocational training, higher education, an apprenticeship, an internship, civic service, a job transfer or a temporary assignment. The home must be furnished, and the contract must state the reason, the duration and that it is a mobility lease.
Can the landlord ask for a security deposit?
No. Article 25-17 of the law of 6 July 1989 provides that no security deposit can be required by the landlord. According to Service-public.fr, the landlord may instead ask for a guarantor, and the tenant can then use, among other options, the Visale guarantee.
Can the landlord end a mobility lease early?
No. According to ANIL, the landlord cannot end the contract before its term; they can go to a judge if the tenant fails in their obligations. At the term, the landlord does not need to give notice.
The mobility lease is only one way to let a furnished home: our guide to renting out your second home compares the five options, and the Legal dossier gathers the other contracts, including the fixed-days lease.