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In France every resident is required to possess a proof of residence, which must be a utility bill, and a declaration by the landlord if the bill is not in the person's name. French landlords often don't want to provide this document, usually because they don't want their renters to declare their address to any government controlled database so that they can avoid declaring the rent for tax purposes.

On the other hand, this creates a huge burden on the renter since a proof of residence is required to obtain many mandatory services, like opening a bank account (yes, this is mandatory in France). The rent agreement cannot be used as a proof of residence.

If a renter find him/herself in this situation, could this person oblige the landlord to provide this document? Is this document actually mandatory to be provided by the landlord to the renter?

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  • This is not about expatriation; many local citizens face the same issue.
    – fkraiem
    Commented Oct 14, 2017 at 0:27
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    It's a good legal question. While expatriates are in particular more likely to face this issue without proper preparation of their journey, this is as much an issue for citizens as well.
    – ouflak ♦
    Commented Oct 14, 2017 at 7:14
  • I already asked at Law.SE and I was told to ask here.
    – Gabriel Diego
    Commented Oct 14, 2017 at 10:02
  • If the data is not registered with the government, can your rights/the rights of the landlord still be protected? I mean I suppose you still have all the evidence of payment and contract with the landlord, but in case some dispute arises and you go to the court, for example, wouldn't the landlord be found out to have evaded taxes and thus face repercussions? Would that mean the landlord would rather avoid at all costs the involvement of any sort of government agency/police/court if any dispute arises?
    – xji
    Commented Oct 31, 2017 at 22:13
  • @JIXiang The kind of landlord that does that is the one who will not use the police to evict someone. And yes, there are criminals like that even in France who then live behind the protection of the private life making any evidence practically impossible to be legally used against them.
    – Gabriel Diego
    Commented Oct 31, 2017 at 22:17

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See https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2066

It is mandatory for the owner to give you a 'quittance de loyer' for every rent that you pay. A 'quittance de loyer' can be used as a 'justificatif de domicile' for most administrative tasks.

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  • Banks usually don't accept this, only a utility bill with a written statement from the landlord. Is this also mandatory to be provided?
    – Gabriel Diego
    Commented Oct 12, 2017 at 6:36

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