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Lease termination letter template for France

Tenant's notice to end the leaseLettre de congé du locataire

The tenant's letter that ends a main-residence lease. The tenant can give notice at any time. The notice period is 3 months for an unfurnished home, or 1 month in a zone tendue and in other listed cases, and 1 month for a furnished home. The period runs from the day the landlord receives the letter.

Use it when you rent your main home and want to leave. You need no reason for the standard notice. To claim the 1-month notice of an unfurnished lease, state the reason in the letter and attach proof. The landlord's own notice follows different rules: only for the end of the lease, 6 months ahead, and only to live in the home, to sell it, or for a legitimate and serious reason.

Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.

Key facts

Applies to
Whole country
Unfurnished lease, standard notice
3 months (loi 89-462, art. 15).
Unfurnished lease, reduced notice
1 month in a zone tendue, or for a first job, job transfer, job loss, or new job after a job loss (art. 15).
Reduced notice, other grounds
1 month for health grounds, domestic violence, RSA or AAH benefits, or a social housing allocation (art. 15).
Furnished lease
1 month in all cases (art. 25-8).
Start of the period
Day the landlord receives the registered letter, the bailiff's service or the hand delivery (art. 15).
Rent during notice
Due for the whole period, unless a new tenant moves in earlier with the landlord's agreement (art. 15).
Landlord's notice
6 months before the end of the lease, for 3 reasons only: to live in the home, to sell it, or a legitimate and serious reason (art. 15).

The document

Text shown

You sign the French version. The English version helps you understand it. Your answers fill both.

Tenant's notice to end the lease

  1. 1.Heading

    1. 1.1

      Tenant or co-tenants giving notice, Address of the let home. For the attention of Landlord or managing agent, Landlord's or agent's address. Made at Place of writing, on Date of writing.

      Use the landlord's or agent's address given in the lease.

    2. 1.2

      Registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Subject: notice to leave the let home.

      If you hand the letter over in person, replace this line with "Remise en main propre contre récépissé" and have the landlord sign and date your copy.

  2. 2.Notice

    1. 2.1

      Dear Sir or Madam, I hereby give you notice that I will leave the home located at Address of the let home, which I rent under the lease signed on Date the lease was signed, in accordance with article 15 of loi n° 89-462 of 6 July 1989.

      For a furnished lease, cite article 25-8 instead of article 15. The notice is then always 1 month.

  3. 3.Notice period

    1. 3.1

      The applicable notice period is three months from receipt of this letter.

      Keep either this clause or the next one, not both.

    2. 3.2

      I am entitled to a notice period reduced to one month from receipt of this letter, for the following reason: Reason for 1-month notice. I enclose the following proof: Proof attached.

      In a zone tendue, cite "article 15, I, 1°". Attach the proof to the letter.

  4. 4.Exit inventory and return of keys

    1. 4.1

      I propose to carry out the exit inventory and return the keys on Date for exit report and key return. Please confirm this date or propose another one before the end of the notice period.

  5. 5.Deposit

    1. 5.1

      Please return the deposit within the periods set by article 22 of the law of 6 July 1989, to the following address: New address for the deposit return.

      The landlord has 1 month after the keys are returned if the exit report matches the entry report, otherwise 2 months.

  6. 6.Closing and signature

    1. 6.1

      Yours faithfully. Signature of each tenant giving notice: Tenant or co-tenants giving notice.

      Each co-tenant who leaves signs. A co-tenant who does not sign stays bound by the lease.

Formalities

  1. Send the notice by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
  2. You can also have a commissaire de justice (bailiff) serve it.
  3. Or hand it to the landlord or agent against a signed and dated receipt.
  4. A registered electronic letter is valid only if the landlord agreed to receive notices that way. A plain email is not valid.
  5. Each co-tenant who wants to leave must sign the notice.
  6. Married tenants and civil partners who both signed the lease give notice together.

Common mistakes

  • Claiming 1 month's notice without stating the reason and attaching proof when you send the letter. The notice then runs for 3 months.
  • Assuming your town is in a zone tendue. Check the address with the Service-Public.fr simulator and quote the result in the letter.
  • Counting the notice from the day you post the letter. It runs from the day the landlord receives it.
  • Relying on a registered letter the landlord does not collect. If it comes back to you, the notice is not valid. Have a commissaire de justice serve it instead.
  • Sending the notice by plain email or text message. It has no legal effect.
  • Ignoring joint liability when one co-tenant leaves. The leaver can stay liable up to 6 months after the notice ends, unless a new co-tenant replaces them.
  • Forgetting to give your new address when you return the keys. The landlord needs it to return the deposit.

Legal basis

Sources

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