Rent default insurance (GLI) in France: rules and tax

What a GLI covers

There is no standard contract laid down by law: the scope of cover, its price and the conditions for compensation vary between policies and insurers (anil.org). The core cover generally includes losses due to non-payment of:

• rent and service charges;
• indemnités d’occupation (occupation charges) payable by the tenant;
• litigation and debt recovery costs.

Options can be added: unpaid tenant repairs, damage, removal costs, void periods. According to the ANIL (national housing information agency), policies often cover 60 to 100% of rent and charges, paid for 12 to 24 months, with a ceiling specific to each policy. Compensation can start from the first missed payment, but an excess of one or two months’ rent is common.

The landlord can deal directly with an insurer or go through the professional who manages the property; in the latter case, the ANIL notes that the premium is generally lower. Before signing, obtain the general and specific terms and conditions: that is where the exclusions, the excess and the ceiling are found.

Which tenants the insurer accepts

An insurance policy must cover a risk that has not yet materialised. For a GLI, since the risk is non-payment, the tenant must be solvent when the landlord takes out the policy (anil.org). The insurer therefore sets eligibility criteria, which appear in the policy: income relative to rent, type of employment contract, documents to be provided.

To check this solvency, the insurer can ask, through the landlord, for information on the tenant’s income: for example the last three payslips, the last or penultimate avis d’imposition (tax assessment notice), the employment contract or a certificate from the employer (anil.org). These requests remain limited by the list of documents a landlord may ask an applicant for, set by the decree of 5 November 2015 (anil.org).

In practice, an application that does not meet the policy’s criteria is not covered: a landlord who lets to that applicant anyway does so without cover. Eligibility must therefore be checked before the lease is signed, and the documents examined kept.

GLI and guarantor: no combining

Article 22-1 of the Act of 6 July 1989 is clear: “A guarantee may not be requested, on pain of nullity, by a landlord who has taken out insurance, or any other form of guarantee, covering the tenant’s rental obligations, except where the dwelling is let to a student or an apprentice.”

The “family” SCI (société civile immobilière, property holding company) in question is a company formed exclusively between relatives by blood or marriage up to the 4th degree inclusive (service-public.gouv.fr). For landlords that are legal entities, decree no. 2009-1659 lists the bodies allowed to act as guarantor, such as the fonds de solidarité pour le logement (housing solidarity funds). Finally, the garantie Visale (Visale guarantee) is a guarantee exclusive of any other guarantee, guarantor or insurance (anil.org): you have to choose between Visale and a GLI.

The dépôt de garantie (security deposit) is not affected by this prohibition, which only concerns the personal guarantor: it can still be required alongside a GLI (1989 Act, art. 22).

The premium and payouts for tax purposes

Under the actual-expenses regime for rental income, all insurance premiums paid for the let property are deductible at their actual amount, including where the policy is taken out by an intermediary such as a property manager, or under a group policy (2026 income tax brochure; BOI-RFPI-BASE-20-60). The premium is declared on the “primes d’assurance” (insurance premiums) line of form 2044. The ANIL sums it up: the premium is deductible from rental income “subject to conditions”.

That condition is the tax regime. Under the micro-foncier (simplified regime), available when the household’s gross rents do not exceed €15,000 a year, a flat-rate 30% allowance represents all expenses (2026 income tax brochure): the premium is not deducted on top. See the guide micro-foncier et régime réel (simplified and actual-expenses regimes).

Conversely, sums paid by the insurer under a rent guarantee policy are replacement income: they are declared as gross receipts, like the rent they replace (2026 income tax brochure).

Reporting unpaid rent when insured

From the first incident, the unpaid rent is reported to the insurer as set out in the policy (anil.org). Reporting deadlines, the formal notice to be sent to the tenant and the handling of proceedings are laid down in the policy, hence the value of rereading it at the first late payment. If the tenant receives housing benefit paid to the landlord, the arrears must also be reported to the CAF or the MSA (benefit agencies) within two months (anil.org). The court procedure that follows is detailed in the guide impayés de loyer : la procédure (unpaid rent: the procedure).

Which professional to consult

An agent immobilier (estate agent) who manages the property can offer a GLI as part of their mandate, check the applicant’s eligibility before the lease is signed and report unpaid rent to the insurer within the policy’s deadlines. Never sign the lease before receiving confirmation that the tenant’s application has been accepted by the insurer.