Rent rates rise fast for big flats

RENTS for larger apartments in France rose faster than those for studios and houses in 2010, a property study has found.

Estate agents Century 21 said property rents rose between 2.1 per cent (for studios) and 10 per cent (for five rooms), with an overall rise of 4.05 per cent during 2010.

Such rises do not apply to long-term lets already occupied, whose rent rises are governed by the indice de référence des loyers, a government inflation-based benchmark revised every quarter.

This time last year, the index registered a drop of 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2010.

Landlords with ongoing contracts with tenants can only raise the rent in accordance with the index and the length of time since the tenant’s last rise.

However, as long as the rent rise follows the index, landlords can raise the rent without having to redraw the contract.

Century 21 reports that average rent prices rose 32.3 per cent between 2001 and 2010. However, the price of renting houses during this period rose only 12.5 per cent.