Top 5 most common rental disputes

No landlord imagines, when signing a mandate, that they will end up facing a tenant in litigation. And yet, in Paris, nearly one out of three owners experiences at least one significant dispute during the holding period of their property. Some are minor and are resolved by written exchange. Others degenerate into long, costly, sometimes traumatizing procedures that can immobilize the property for two years or more.

The good news: almost all of these disputes stem from a limited number of recurring scenarios, which can be anticipated and defused as soon as the property is put up for rent. Here are the five most frequent ones and the levers to neutralize them.

1. Unpaid rent — the most expensive dispute

This is every landlord's nightmare, and the leading cause of rental litigation in France. A tenant who stops paying exposes the owner to several months of lost income, significant legal fees, and — in Paris — an eviction process that frequently exceeds 18 to 24 months.

The most frequent causes:

• Tenant application poorly verified at move-in (rent-to-income ratio too high, falsified supporting documents)

• Insufficiently strong or non-existent guarantor

• Absence of Unpaid Rent Guarantee (GLI)

• Too late a reaction to the first alerts (a rent 15 days late must already trigger a written reminder)

Prevention levers:

In Paris, GLI generally costs between 2 and 3% of the monthly rent including charges. It is one of the most cost-effective insurances a landlord can take out.

2. Damage and the security deposit

The second source of litigation, and the most time-consuming. The mechanism is always the same: upon departure, the landlord notes damages that they wish to withhold from the security deposit. The tenant contests. In the absence of a precise incoming inventory of fixtures, the landlord cannot prove anything.

The pitfalls to avoid:

• Sloppy incoming inventory of fixtures (without photos, without details room by room)

• Confusion between normal wear and tear (landlord's responsibility) and damage (tenant's responsibility)

• Arbitrary flat-rate deduction without estimate or invoice

• Return of the deposit beyond the legal timeframes (1 month in the absence of a deduction, 2 months with deduction)

The solution: a professional incoming inventory of fixtures, 40 to 60 pages long with time-stamped photos room by room, and an outgoing inventory conducted under the same conditions by the same operator. This double rigor resolves 90% of disputes before they even start.

3. Nuisance and neighborhood complaints

A tenant who makes noise, occupies the property with more people than planned, sublets without authorization, or transforms the housing into business premises: these situations generate complaints from the building manager or neighbors that escalate to the landlord — and can engage their liability.

Best practices:

• Explicit peaceful enjoyment clause in the lease

• Prohibition of subletting without written agreement (mandatory mention)

• Mention of the number of authorized occupants

• Documented procedure in case of complaint (written formal notice before any escalation)

In Paris, complaints for nuisance are on the rise since 2024, particularly in connection with disguised subletting on Airbnb by tenants on a primary lease. Early detection — regular monitoring of rental platforms — is part of the work of serious rental management.

4. Works and repairs — who pays for what

This is the daily dispute. A boiler that breaks down, a leak, a roller shutter that no longer works: with each incident, the same question returns. Who has to pay?

French law clearly distinguishes:

• At the landlord's expense: major repairs, replacement of obsolete equipment, compliance upgrades

• At the tenant's expense: routine maintenance, minor repairs (gaskets, light bulbs, small parts), damage attributable to their use

The trap: a landlord who refuses an intervention that is their responsibility (heating broken down, water not working) exposes themselves to a request for a retroactive rent reduction by the tenant, and to a rapid deterioration of the relationship. Conversely, accepting without discussion a request that is the tenant's responsibility creates a lasting precedent.

5. Notice given or received — formal errors that change everything

Last major area of dispute: the end of the lease. Notice rules are strict, and the slightest formal error can be contested — or even void the notice.

For the landlord (1989 law):

• Notice period of 6 months before the end of the lease

• Mandatory reason (repossession for housing, sale, legitimate and serious reason)

• Notification by bailiff's deed, registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or hand-delivered against receipt

• Rigorous justification of the motive (with supporting documents)

For the tenant (high-demand area Paris):

• Notice period reduced to 1 month

• Registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or bailiff's deed

The landlord's most frequent errors: notice sent too late, insufficiently justified reason, notice for sale without respecting the tenant's right of first refusal. Each of these can void the notice and extend the lease for an additional three years.

The best defense against litigation is contractual prevention

All these disputes have one thing in common: they almost always arise from a flaw upstream — a poorly verified file, a sloppy inventory of fixtures, too weak a lease, a forgotten clause. A well-drafted lease, a solid tenant file, and attentive management resolve, between the three of them, the overwhelming majority of conflict situations before they escalate.

This is precisely what distinguishes professional rental management from direct management: the ability to anticipate litigation in the drafting of the lease, in the selection of the tenant, and in daily monitoring — not to suffer it once it is there.

An ongoing dispute or a situation you want to secure? BAUVAUT assists Parisian landlords across the entire chain — rigorous selection, ironclad leases, proactive incident management, partnerships with bailiffs and lawyers. Request your free situation audit.