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Garant: How the French guarantor system works for property rental

If you're looking to rent an apartment in a larger city in France, you're likely to see announcements that require a 'garant'. Here is what you need to know about finding a guarantor in France.

Published: 27 May 2022 10:19 CEST

Garant: How the French guarantor system works for property rental

Photo by Robert Linder on Unsplash

Renting in large cities in France – particularly in Paris – is a known challenge for foreigners, especially new arrivals. In the countryside, it’s a bit easier, with less competition properties, but in the big cities compiling your dossier and landing the right place can be a challenge.

One of the biggest surprises for many people is that most landlords ask for a guarantor (garant) in order to sign a lease for an apartment. It is not a legal requirement, but in competitive real estate markets, it certainly feels like one.

Though asking for a garant might feel a bit juvenile, it is quite common, and applies to a lot more people than you might realise. Here is what you need to know:

Who typically needs a guarantor?

The most common group to need guarantors are students. However, if you are a foreigner who is not employed with a CDI (indefinite contract) and if you do not make over three times your monthly rent, you will likely need a guarantor as well.

If you don’t collect your income in France (or if you don’t have an income) you will need a guarantor.

You will also likely need one if you are still in the probationary period of your CDI, or if you cannot show three months worth of pay stubs from your job yet (even if you pay meets the three times a month requirement). If you do have a CDI, you could ask your employer to sign you an attestation d’employeur which verifies your monthly income.

If your income is not steady or consistent (perhaps you are a freelancer). Typically, if you use an agency during the leasing process, they will require a guarantor, especially if any of these conditions apply to you.

It is worth noting that showing bank statements typically do not suffice – landlords are looking for proof of ongoing income, not savings.

Who can count as a guarantor?

The guarantor should be a third party, such as a parent or close relative who agrees to pay your rent if you fail to pay.

This person must fulfil all the requirements outlined above (ie earning more than three times your rent with an indefinite contract).

The other tricky part is that this person must work and live in France, and usually it’s best that they are French themselves.

However, this can pose a problem for foreigners who might not know anyone that fits that description, so thankfully there are some other options fill this requirement, like taking out a caution bancaire or using an online agency. We explained the ins-and-outs of these bellow.

What does my guarantor need to show?

The guarantor needs to put together a dossier of documents including;

Proof of identification (a passport or French ID card)
Proof of residence that is less than three months old (eg utility bills).
Most recent tax returns
Employment contract and typically three months worth of payslips
If they earn money via real estate, they must also provide documentation for this
If the person in question is retired, they must provide proof of pension (again, this must exceed your monthly rent threefold).

So, what if I don’t have a French person who can be my guarantor? There are a few options for you:

Use an online service

There are two main online services that can act as guarantors for foreigners in France.

The first is Visale, which is accessible primarily to foreign students.

This is a programme offered via the French state through “Action Logement” and it covers up to three years of unpaid rent. You must be between 18 and 30 years old to apply, and you must hold a long-stay visa (VLS-TS) – either a student visa or a ‘talent’ one.

For students who are already citizens of a European Union country, then simply presenting a student card and a valid passport will be sufficient. It can be applied to private housing and student residences, but it is ultimately up to the landlord as to whether they will accept a tenant who uses Visale as their guarantor. The main benefit to Visale is that it is free for the user.

Visale does come with some restrictions, however. Your rent (including charges) cannot exceed €1,500 in Paris, and €1,300 in the rest of the country. In addition, the lease must be for a primary residence, and your rent should not exceed 50 percent of your total income.

Another option is GarantMe, a paid online website that can also serve as an official guarantor.

Landlords might actually prefer this service over a physical guarantor who might refuse to pay or for whatever reason not have the funds to do so. The benefit to GarantMe is that they accept a wider range of tenants for their service, but the downside is that there is a fee. The minimum payment (per year) is €150, but the fee is normally 3.5 percent of the annual rent (including charges) and it renews automatically.

The nice thing about GarantMe, is that in order to apply for the service, you basically need to create a full dossier that will be identical to what you’ll need for your apartment search anyways.

Take out a Caution Bancaire

Basically, a caution bancaire is a bank guarantee, and typically its a bit more of a last resort option because it is quite restrictive for the tenant. It involves blocking off a large sum of money to be used to pay rent if you fail to do so.

Depending on the landlord (and the bank), they might ask you to block between six months worth of rent to sometimes up to two years. This would be used as guarantee during the duration of your lease, but it takes a bit of administrative coordination and obviously requires a large sum of liquid funds.

Sometimes activating a bank guarantee can take a few weeks, and for foreigners, of course, this would require already having a French bank account. There can also be fees, depending on the bank, for using a caution bancaire, and simply closing of caution bancaire account in itself can involve fees.

The other downside to this is that not all landlords will accept it, which is why this option might be best served as a last resort.

Attempt to find an apartment that does not require a garant

This is quite difficult in Paris (and other large cities around France). It is possible sometimes if you stick to foreigner-oriented sites like NY Habitat or Paris Attitude. Another possible loophole could be to see if your insurance plan offers coverage of unpaid rent. This is quite uncommon, but could be a possible option. If you rent specifically particulier-à-particulier (meaning you do not use an agency at all) you might be able to negotiate with the landlord, or if you have a sub-lease you might not need to show proof of a guarantor.

Ultimately, however, in most cases when renting in France’s large cities, you’ll likely need a guarantor.

What should I be aware of when it comes to guarantor websites?

As mentioned previously, Visale is only for people in the 18-30 age group, so unfortunately it does not apply to everyone. It is also intended for lower income people or students, so if you are a high earner you might be rejected.

Regarding using a website like GarantMe, beware that they will charge you every year – it is not a one time fee. This will be deducted from the card you put on the site and the only way to cancel the charge will be to show proof that you have moved out (i.e. an état des lieux or letter releasing you from the obligation signed from your landlord)

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6 pension questions British people should ask before retiring to France

Retiring to France is a dream for many, but before turning that dream into reality there are some serious financial questions that you need to ask yourself to ensure that your retirement is a financially comfortable one.

For most retirees, their main or only income will be a UK pension, so it’s important that you understand how your pension will work once you make the move.

There are some specific rules and restrictions on taking pensions out of the UK, while there is also the question of how UK pensions interact with the French tax system.

Financial adviser, Maeve Hoffman, from Spectrum IFA Group, emphasised that people should not take these decisions lightly, telling The Local: “Figuring out what to do with your pension should be part of your wider financial plans for your life.

“This may be your most important asset, besides your home, and the best answer for what to do with your pension is highly individual. There are no sweeping generalisations when it comes to advice on private pensions. Everyone’s situation is different,” she said.

This article is intended as an overview of how the system works for UK pensioners and is not intended as a substitute for individual financial advice. The article is aimed at people who have worked most or all of their career in the UK and then intend to retire in France – the situation is slightly different for people who work in France and then retire here.

You can find an overview on French tax rules for pensions HERE.

Long-term or short-term

The first thing you need to carefully consider is whether or not your move to France will be for the long-term or short-term.

When it comes to your UK pension, there are some options that may be advantageous for French residents looking to stay here permanently, but they could make your life very complicated if you end up returning to the UK in the future.

Do not be afraid to ask yourself the tough questions – is there any chance you will have grandchildren in the future that you will want to be geographically close to? Have you ever spent a significant time in France, aside from short holidays? Do you have roots in France, such as friends, family or a home? If your health deteriorates, will you want to be cared for in France or the UK?

If are unsure about the answers to these questions, then take some time to really think about them. There are alternatives to permanently moving to France if you are unsure – for example, you could spend a few months a year here on a short-term visitor’s visa.

Understanding the different tax rules

British retirees should be aware that the UK and France have very different tax systems.

Once you become a tax resident in France, you have to file a yearly declaration, including your global income. The country that gets to tax that income is determined based on the tax treaty between the UK and France, which seeks to eliminate double-taxation.

As for your UK-based pension, the treaty states that if you have a UK government or civil service pension (eg a state school teachers’ pension), then this will remain taxable only in the UK. Some old NHS pensions were considered ‘government pensions’, but modern ones might not be. You can check if your pension is classified as ‘government’ here.

You still have to declare this income to the French tax authorities, but you will not be subject to tax in France on it. That being said, it will count towards your total household income, and could end up pushing you into a higher tax bracket which is something you should carefully consider, particularly if you want to take a large sum at once.

The same is not true of private pensions: these are taxed in France, not the UK, as soon as you become a tax resident here. Confusingly, the UK state pension is also considered a private pension, even though it is paid by the government.

You can find a complete guide to how UK pensions are taxed in France HERE.

As a result, you will want to think about whether your previous plans for your private pension were only advantageous to you as a UK resident. Once you become a French tax resident, they could have unforeseen implications.

You can find more information about tax rates in our tax guide.

Get reliable, expert financial advice before doing anything

If you have decided you want to be in France permanently, then you will need some expert tax and pension advice – but you need to be careful who you take advice from, this is a highly specialist area and it’s unlikely that high street financial advisers will have the knowledge that you need.

Brexit has also made getting financial advice more complicated, with fewer experts available.

Maeve told us: “Because of Brexit, you cannot use a UK-based financial adviser anymore – you have to use an EU-registered one. This has made things more complicated. When picking an adviser, seek out someone who has expertise on the local taxation rules in France. They should also be regulated with the financial regulator where you live and where they work.”

It can be especially complicated to parse out who you can and cannot take advice from – for example, some UK-based advisers have continued to give advice to EU-based clients, even though this can be particularly risky if the investments they recommend do not follow EU regulations.

There are also expat-oriented financial advice services that are located outside of France, but seek to offer tax advice to people in France.

She added: “Be smart and sensible. If you choose an adviser in Dubai or Spain for example, you will now be adding another regulatory organisation into the mix, plus another language.

“There are free, government-based services in the UK that can help you understand your private pension – Pension Wise and Money Helper. Before doing anything, you should consult the free services. Any financial adviser worth their salt would recommend this too.

“These services have begun to have longer wait times, so be sure to book well in advance of when you plan to draw from your pension.”

Deciding whether to transfer your pension

Another question that is important for Brits to think about is whether or not to transfer their pension into either a UK-based SIPP for non-residents, or a QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes).

The SIPP will keep your pension in the UK, while the QROPS moves it out of the UK, to Malta specifically.

These options can be helpful for French residents, but you need to familiarise yourself with their benefits and drawbacks.

“The QROPS is not for someone who is unsure of their future in France, as if you return to the UK within five years of the pension transfer HMRC will seek their tax back as if it was a full encashment,” Maeve said.

In France, a QROPS is considered a trust, you may also have additional reporting requirements to fill out along with your annual declaration (more info here).

You should beware of scams on this subject, as the post-Brexit period saw many scammers seeking to persuade Brits that it was now mandatory to transfer their UK pension – always be wary of any cold-calling or unsolicited financial advice.

Determining how you will want to draw from your pension

The next question is how you want to receive your pension – either as regular income or as a lump sum. The option that you chose will have tax implications in France.

If you receive it as a regular income, when doing your yearly French tax declaration, you will add up your pension income for that year and you will be taxed at the normal marginal rates for income (the barème). These rates go up to 45 percent (for the highest earners only) plus social charges if they apply (more on this below).

Pension income can also benefit from a 10 percent tax deduction, as long as it does not exceed €4,123 or fall below €422 per household.

Lump-sums are more complicated. Technically, French tax authorities would allow a return of once off pension capital to be taxed at a flat rate of 7.5 percent.

But in reality, Hoffman explained that anyone seeking to do this would need the express, written confirmation from French tax authorities that this rate will be applied.

She also explained that the type of private pension matters when seeking to get the lump-sum flat rate.

“There are plenty of different types of private pensions in the UK, but the old ‘defined benefit schemes’ have been the gold-plated standard. These are the types of pensions that give you a portion of your salary for the rest of your life.

“In principle, you should be able to take out lump-sum of 25 percent of your ‘defined benefit scheme’ pension and be taxed at the 7.5 percent flat-rate. That being said, some people get refused, so you cannot make any assumptions and you need clarification from the French tax office.

“As for all of the other types of private pensions in the UK, like the money purchase or personal pension schemes, these are considered to be ‘funds’. If you want to benefit from the lump-sum then you would have to take out the entire pension. You would not be able to just take out 25 percent and get the lump-sum rate.

“For anyone considering taking their whole pension and seeking to use the 7.5 percent rate there are conditions to be met, so I advise people to write to their French tax office and explain their own situation in detail. Be sure to clarify the tax rate you are seeking to have applied and ask what documents they would need from your UK pension company to confirm that the contributions to this pension have been tax deductible.”

Healthcare and social charges

Deductions in France come in two types – impôts (income taxes) and prélèvements sociaux (social charges).

People who retire to France (and have never worked in France) and have already reached the state pension age can apply for the S1 – this means that the UK continues to pay for their healthcare costs and they would not be charged prélèvements sociaux. Non-working spouses of an S1 holder can also benefit from this.

People who take early retirement and make the move before they reach state pension age may have to pay social charges in addition to taxes until they reach the state pension age and can apply for their S1. However, there are several exemptions to social charges, so even if you expect a bill, you may not end up being charged. More information in our guide.

Social charges help pay for a lot of services from the French government, including access to healthcare. In France, you can access the state healthcare system (and get a carte vitale) after three months of residency.

READ MORE: Why you might get an unexpected French health bill

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