Rental notice period: 1 or 3 months? Get your exact date
AdminLanding Editorial
Check your commune against the official zone tendue list, apply the art. 15 rules, and get the exact day your lease ends — free, then generate the compliant letter.
Notice period simulator — free
Your legal notice duration and exact end date, under loi n° 89-462.
The clock starts when the letter is received (LRAR signed for), not when it is sent.
Your legal notice period:
3 months
Standard 3-month notice (unfurnished, outside zone tendue, no special situation).
Valid delivery: registered letter with acknowledgment (LRAR), hand delivery against signed receipt, or service by a commissaire de justice. A plain email is not valid notice.
Now turn it into a compliant notice letter
- • Correct legal mentions and article citations for your exact case
- • Justificatif checklist so the 1-month notice can't be contested
- • LRAR delivery guidance
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How the notice period really works
The clock starts at reception, not sending
Posting your LRAR on the 28th does not start the notice — the period begins the day the landlord signs for it. Hand delivery against a signed receipt or service by a commissaire de justice work too. If the landlord never collects the registered letter, courts consider the notice never took effect: when in doubt, the commissaire de justice route is the only guaranteed start date.
The end date is day-for-day
A 1-month notice received on 12 March ends on 12 April; a 3-month notice received on 5 March ends on 5 June. When the target month has no matching day (received 31 March + 1 month), the notice ends on the month's last day (30 April). Rent and charges are due through the entire period — unless the landlord agrees otherwise or re-lets sooner.
The reduced notice must be claimed in the letter
The 1-month notice is not automatic: the letter itself must state the ground. For personal grounds (job transfer, health, RSA/AAH…) the justificatif must accompany the letter — courts refuse documents produced after the fact, and the 3-month notice then applies (Cass. 3e civ., 11 Apr. 2019). For the zone tendue ground, stating the provision with the dwelling's address suffices — no attachment is legally required (Cass. 3e civ., 11 Jan. 2024). Getting this wrong is the single most common préavis mistake — exactly what a generated, legally structured letter prevents.
Landlord side: a different regime entirely
A landlord cannot end the lease mid-term: notice is only for the lease's end, with a legal motive (sale, moving in, serious legitimate ground) and 6 months' warning for unfurnished (3 for furnished). Full rules in our landlord notice guide. Staying landlord and raising the rent once a year instead? Calculate the IRL rent increase.
Not a tenancy: home employment has its own notice table
A nanny, cleaner or home helper declared through CESU or Pajemploi is not under the loi de 1989 but under the convention collective IDCC 3239, where notice runs from one week to two months depending on seniority and on which party ends the contract. Our home employment end-of-contract calculator gives the notice end date and the indemnities for both parties; the employee side is detailed in leaving a home employment job and the employee's rights at the end of the contract.
Quick answer
A French tenant's notice period (préavis) is set by article 15 of the loi du 6 juillet 1989: 3 months for an unfurnished lease, reduced to 1 month when the dwelling is in a zone tendue (the 1,434 communes of the first list of the décret n° 2013-392 annex) or when a listed personal ground applies — and always 1 month for a furnished lease. The period runs from the day the landlord receives the letter (LRAR, hand delivery against receipt, or commissaire de justice), and rent remains due until the end date. To get the reduced notice, the reason must be stated in the letter itself — with the justificatif attached for personal grounds.
Leaving because of unpaid deposit issues? See deposit return rules. Not sure whether your commune qualifies for the reduced notice? Check the rent-control zone (zone tendue) list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Notice duration, zone tendue, start date, rent during préavis.
How long is the notice period for a tenant in France?
When does the notice period start?
What is a zone tendue and how do I know if my city is one?
Do I need to give a reason for leaving?
Do I pay rent during the notice period?
How do I send a valid notice letter?
Important: AdminLanding is a technology platform, not a law firm. We do not practice law, provide legal advice, or act as lawyers (avocats), notaries (notaires), bailiffs (commissaires de justice), or any regulated legal professional as defined by French Law No. 71-1130 of December 31, 1971. This simulator applies the published legal rules to the information you enter, for information purposes only — it does not constitute personalized legal advice. Verify your situation with the official sources (service-public.fr) or a qualified professional before acting.
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EU-hosted • Art. 15 loi 89-462 • Official zone list (décret 2013-392, consolidated)
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