Letting agent fees in France: 2026 caps per m²

What the tenant can pay, and nothing else

Article 5 lays down the principle: the intermediary’s remuneration “is payable exclusively by the landlord” (our translation), except for two groups of services.

• Viewing, file, lease: these fees “are shared between the landlord and the tenant. The amount including all taxes charged to the tenant for these services may not exceed that charged to the landlord” and remains less than or equal to a cap per square metre of habitable floor area set by regulation.
• Inventory: the fees are shared in the same way; the amount charged to the tenant “may not exceed that charged to the landlord”.

Everything else (writing and publishing the advert, finding a tenant, letting management, sending rent receipts, etc.) is paid entirely by the owner (service-public.gouv.fr).

The caps in force in 2026

Source: service-public.gouv.fr (checked on 12 January 2026). Decree no. 2014-890 had set these caps at €12, €10 and €8 per m², and €3 for the inventory (art. 2); they are revised every 1 January in line with the change in the indice de référence des loyers (rent reference index, IRL) (art. 3). The arrêté (ministerial order) of 17 July 2025 carried out the revision applicable “From 1 January 2026”.

The area used is the habitable floor area (surface habitable): floor area after deducting walls, partitions, steps, stairwells, ducts and window and door recesses, excluding cellars, garages, balconies, terraces, unconverted lofts and parts less than 1.80 m high (service-public.gouv.fr).

Which zone is the home in?

Under article 1 of decree no. 2014-890:

• the very high-demand zone corresponds to the municipalities classified in zone A bis;
• the high-demand zone comprises the municipalities listed in the annex to decree no. 2013-392 of 10 May 2013, excluding the very high-demand zone;
• the rest of the country falls under the third cap.

Point to watch for 2027. Decree no. 2026-831 of 25 August 2026 repeals decree no. 2013-392 with effect from 1 January 2027 (art. 2 and 3), without making any provision for letting fees. For a lease signed from that date, check the list to which the texts then refer, or the service-public.gouv.fr simulator. For the other effects of the classification, see zone tendue (high-demand zone).

Worked examples

The tenant’s share is the lower of two amounts: half the fees charged, or the floor area multiplied by the cap. Official examples for a 25 m² home (service-public.gouv.fr):

In the first high-demand case, the half rule applies; in the second, the cap per m². Service-public.gouv.fr provides two official simulators, “Frais d’agence immobilière : estimer la part du locataire en 2026” (Estate agency fees: estimate the tenant’s share in 2026) and a second one for the check-in inventory, useful for checking an agency’s quote before signing anything.

Renewal, check-out, commissaire de justice

• Lease renewal: if the agency drafts a new lease (for example to revise an undervalued rent or change the terms), the cost is shared with the same caps.
• Amicable, jointly conducted check-out inventory: no charge for the tenant; a clause to the contrary is unfair and deemed unwritten.
• Commissaire de justice (court officer): if an amicable inventory is impossible, their fees are split half and half between tenant and owner.

Source: service-public.gouv.fr. See also our guide to the état des lieux (inventory of fixtures).

Display of rates and disputes

The agency sets its prices freely, but must display the maximum price inc. VAT of each service at the entrance to its premises, in its window, on listing websites and at trade fairs, stating who pays it; if the price depends on the rent, the display must make it possible to calculate it (service-public.gouv.fr). A tenant asked to pay more than the cap can use the template letter “Vous refusez de payer les frais réclamés par une agence immobilière” (You refuse to pay the fees claimed by an estate agency) offered by service-public.gouv.fr, and get free advice from the ADIL (departmental housing information agency) of their département.

Which professional to consult

An agent immobilier (estate agent) must display the maximum price of each of their services and state who pays it (service-public.gouv.fr): before signing the bail (lease), ask them in writing for the zone used, the habitable floor area taken into account and the breakdown between landlord and tenant. For the tenant, these fees come on top of the dépôt de garantie (rental deposit) and the first month’s rent in the moving-in budget.