an overwhelming majority of classified ads do not comply with the law

Only 6% of advertisements studied by the consumer defense association CLCV indicate all of the mandatory information.

Since 2017 for professionals and since July 1, 2022 for individuals, it is mandatory when renting accommodation to mention 8 essential information on the ad. Are requested in particular the rent, the level of charges, the supervision or not of rents in the area, the result of the energy diagnosis (DPE), deposit of guarantee… According to an investigation (1) carried out by the consumer defense association CLCV, and published this Friday, the account is not there. Far from it.

Only 6% of ads include all of the mandatory information! A rate which is 0% for advertisements placed by individuals and only 17% for professionals, writes the CLCV in its report before pointing out that agency advertisements are also more precise than those of individuals since they contain on average 80% of the required particulars, against 70% for these last ones.

It should also be noted that the PAP site, for Private Individuals, is doing better than average. If certain mentions are systematically present, such as rent, others are conspicuous by their absence:

  • the amount of energy expenditure for the dwelling (14%)
  • the information relating to rent control (43%)
  • the amount of the security deposit (58%)
An example of a well-written ad

Professionals: cheapest online deals for limit your bank charges

3 recommendations

In an attempt to improve the situation, the CLCV makes three demands:

  • For accommodation located in an area subject to rent control, whether the the geographic sector of the property and, where applicable, the elements justifying the application of the additional rent in order to allow the prospective tenant to ensure that the proposed rent is in conformity;
  • That the possibility be removed for an individual to indicate in the classified ad the amount of the fees for carrying out the inventory among them, this statement may suggest that a lessor can charge rental fees without using an agency when this is prohibited;
  • That is expressly mentioned in the advertisements the bare or furnished character of the rental in order to avoid any confusion, the absence of any indication suggesting that the accommodation is rented unfurnished.

(1) Survey of a total of 1100 advertisements, concerning the cities of Paris, Lyon and Lille and collected on 5 different websites (Citya, FNAIM, Foncia, Le bon coin and PAP).

source site-96