Co-location: what are the procedures?
Do you want to share a large apartment with your roommate friends?
More and more popular in France, shared accommodation has many advantages. The most obvious is the financial advantage and the convenience.
- A shared apartment allows you to stay in a larger space for a much lower price than if you live there alone
- It is also a good way to integrate into a new city
Shared accommodation seems to be the best option for young workers and students, but it can also have some disadvantages such as difficulty adapting to others, noise, distribution of tasks, etc.
Before committing to a shared apartment, it is important to establish rules of life and to make sure (as much as possible) that everyone's lifestyles are adaptable to others.
Here are the steps to know to start your roommate :
Type of Leases for shared accommodation
Individual or separate lease :
- We sign a contract specific to each roommate which gives them the exclusive right to use certain rooms (generally their room)
- Each tenant can have their own guarantor
- The rental period is not linked to the leases of other roommates
- Terminate an individual lease: anyone can terminate freely, the lessor may choose another roommate to replace him
Common or solidarity lease
- All roommates are named on the same contract.
- The rent and charges are distributed fairly between the roommates. In case of deterioration of housing and / or equipment everyone is legally obliged to pay.
- The guarantors become united; for example: if a person refuses to pay his rent, all the guarantors may have to pay the amounts due.
- To terminate a joint lease, it must be terminated by mutual agreement between the co-tenants. A single person cannot leave the lease, everyone must agree to terminate. Otherwise, a new roommate must be found to replace the one who wants to leave, which will lead to a new edition of a new lease.
Drafting of the Lease
- The lease is established between the owner on the one hand and each of the roommates on the other hand (all names must be mentioned). Everyone must sign a lease.
Home insurance :
Roommates must insure the accommodation rented in shared accommodation, at least against rental risks (fire, explosion, water damage, civil liability).
- Roommates can choose to insure collectively or individually. Note that if the insurance is collective you are all responsible or damaging in the event of damage, everyone is responsible
- The insurance certificate must be provided to the owner each year. Otherwise, the owner can terminate the rental agreement