Bail mobilité explained: France’s 1–10 month mobility lease

A bail mobilité (mobility lease) is a French furnished rental contract of 1 to 10 months for people in a temporary situation, such as exchange students, interns and employees on a short assignment. The landlord cannot ask for a deposit, and you can leave with one month’s notice. This guide covers who can sign, the rules, how it compares with the student lease and the one-year furnished lease, and when to choose another contract.

1. What a bail mobilité is

The bail mobilité is a lease between the owner of a furnished home and a tenant treated as a temporary occupant. The lease must state that it is a bail mobilité and give the reason you qualify. If the duration, the reason or that statement is missing, the bail mobilité rules do not apply.

2. Who can sign one

Eligibility is judged on the day the lease takes effect, which may differ from the day you sign. On that date you must be in one of these situations:

• vocational training (formation professionnelle);
• higher education (études supérieures);
• an apprenticeship contract (contrat d’apprentissage);
• an internship (stage);
• voluntary civic service (service civique);
• a transfer by your employer (mutation professionnelle);
• a temporary assignment for your work (mission temporaire).

You must prove it with a document, such as an internship agreement or an apprenticeship contract. The list sets no condition of nationality or age. Exchange students come under higher education. See the official Service-Public page.

3. Duration: 1 to 10 months, with no renewal

A bail mobilité lasts at least 1 month and at most 10 months. It cannot be renewed and does not roll over. The duration can be changed once by a written amendment (avenant), provided the total stays within 10 months.

On the end date the lease stops without the landlord having to give notice. To carry on in the same home, you both sign a new lease, which must be a “classic” residential lease. According to ANIL, the national housing information agency, it follows the ordinary furnished-rental rules, and those rules allow a deposit.

4. Money: no deposit, fixed charges, rent rules

• No deposit. The landlord is forbidden to ask for a security deposit (dépôt de garantie).
• A guarantor is allowed. The landlord may ask for one (caution). Visale, the free guarantee from Action Logement, can be used, including by students: see our guide to renting without a guarantor.
• Fixed charges. Service charges are paid as a flat sum (forfait) with the rent. A flat sum is not adjusted afterwards, so no top-up can be billed if real costs are higher.
• Stable rent. The landlord sets the rent but cannot revise it during the lease. In high-demand areas (zone tendue) rent cannot be raised freely between two tenants. At the date of this article, an experimental scheme also caps rent levels in Paris and in areas such as Est Ensemble and Plaine Commune; check whether it still applies when you sign.

Housing aid (APL or ALS) is not automatic: ANIL indicates that it is possible, subject to conditions, when the home is your main residence. Since 1 July 2026, a student from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland who holds a residence permit issued for studies can receive it only with a needs-based grant (bourse sur critères sociaux), a job, or an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract: see the Service-Public page on ALS. Ask the CAF, the benefits office, before you count on it.

5. Leaving early, and what the landlord can do

You can end a bail mobilité at any time with one month’s notice (préavis), given in one of three ways:

• a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt;
• a document served by a commissaire de justice (formerly huissier);
• a letter handed over in person against a signature or receipt.

The month runs from the day the landlord receives the notice. According to ANIL, the landlord cannot end the contract before its term, and can only ask a judge to terminate it if the tenant breaches their obligations.

6. What the home and the contract must include

The home must be furnished: bedding, a hob, an oven or microwave, a fridge, crockery, a table and seats, storage shelves and lights are all part of the legal minimum. An inventory and a condition report (état des lieux) are drawn up when you receive the keys and when you return them.

Check that the contract includes at least:

• the names of the landlord (or agent) and the tenant, the start date and the duration;
• the reason that entitles you to a bail mobilité;
• the statements that it is a bail mobilité governed by the law of 6 July 1989 and that no deposit may be requested;
• the living area, the rent and how it is paid.

In a flat-share, the lease cannot contain a joint-liability clause (clause de solidarité) between flatmates or their guarantors that would make you pay a flatmate’s unpaid rent.

7. Bail mobilité, student lease or one-year furnished lease

For a full academic year the student lease is often the closer fit.

8. When a bail mobilité is not the right contract

• You plan to stay more than 10 months. The lease cannot be renewed, so ask for a student lease or a one-year lease from the start.
• You are not in a listed situation. A permanent job with no transfer or temporary assignment, or a stay with no studies, training or internship, does not qualify.
• The contract breaks the rules. A deposit, a renewal clause or a joint-liability clause is prohibited in a bail mobilité: ask for a correction before you sign.

ViveFrance lists homes for rent in Paris and the nearby suburbs, and the website and the advisers work in English, Chinese, Korean and French. When you book a viewing online, ask the adviser which type of lease the landlord offers. See homes for rent

Frequently asked questions

I have a three-month internship in Paris. Can I sign a bail mobilité?

Yes. An internship is a listed situation and three months is within the permitted range. Keep your internship agreement as proof.

Can a bail mobilité be extended?

Once, by written amendment, within the 10-month total. After that you need a new, standard lease.

The landlord wants a deposit for a bail mobilité. Is that allowed?

No. A deposit is forbidden and the contract must say so. The landlord may ask for a guarantor instead, such as Visale.

Updated 2 October 2026

Sources: Service-Public – bail mobilité; Service-Public – security deposit; Service-Public – Visale; Service-Public – furnished lease; Service-Public – furnished or unfurnished; ANIL – bail mobilité; economie.gouv.fr – rental charges. For information only, not legal advice: check the rules and amounts on the official sites before you sign.