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Moving out of your accommodation
Here, you'll find out about all the steps you need to take to move out of your accommodation with total peace of mind: how to terminate your lease, organise the exit inventory, recover your security deposit and cancel any related contracts, such as home insurance. All this key information is provided to support you throughout this process.
Cancelling your lease by registered letter
You must inform your landlord or the agency through which you rented your accommodation of your departure by sending a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
Indicative notice period for furnished accommodation: 1 month
Indicative notice period for unfurnished accommodation: 3 months
If you live in a high-demand housing area (such as the Paris region), the notice period is reduced to one month. Remember to indicate this in your lease termination letter.
The notice period begins when the recipient receives the letter.
Organising the exit inventory
Before you leave your accommodation, you must make an appointment with the landlord or the agency through which you rented it in order to carry out an exit inventory.
To avoid any deductions being made from your deposit:
Restore the premises to their original state.
Repair any damage.
Thoroughly clean the accommodation.
Getting your deposit back
The landlord has up to two months from the date the keys are returned to reimburse your security deposit.
This amount may be reduced if any damage is found. However, all such deductions must be made on the basis of invoices or cost estimates.
Cancelling your contracts
Cancelling your home insurance
Don't forget to cancel your home insurance:
After one year, you can cancel your contract at any time and without providing a reason by sending a registered letter to your insurer. The cancellation will come into effect one month after your request is received.
If your contract is less than a year old, you can cancel it by sending a registered letter to your insurer and submitting proof that you are no longer renting the accommodation (copy of the lease termination letter, new rental contract, etc.). The cancellation will come into effect one month after your request is received.
Cancelling your service contracts
When you leave your accommodation, you should also remember to terminate or transfer any home service contracts.
You will need to contact your electricity and gas suppliers to cancel or transfer your contracts. Don't forget to take meter readings on the day of departure to avoid unjustified billing.
If you have an individual meter, you should also cancel your water contract. If you are living in collective accommodation, water consumption may be managed by the building - check with your landlord.
Remember to let your provider know so that you can also cancel or transfer your Internet and telephone subscriptions and return the equipment (box, decoder, etc.) in order to avoid additional costs.
Finally, depending on your situation, certain additional services may also need to be terminated, such as individual boiler maintenance contracts, alarm or remote surveillance subscriptions, or specific services linked to your home (laundry, waste management, etc.).
