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What is the standard notice period for a tenant for terminating a lease in France? The apartment in question is unfurnished.

I know that it used to be 3 months for unfurnished and 1 month for furnished. However, I was told that recently (within the past year) this has been dropped to 1 month even for unfurnished apartments, but only in certain popular areas in some cities. Is this correct? I am unable to find any references online. I am interested in Lyon and Villeurbanne in particular.

I am in a situation where I may not know 3 months in advance whether I will be able to keep a job in the same city or whether I will need to move (likely away from France). Either way I am going to talk to the landlord well in advance and see if we can come to some agreement. However, I do not expect that they will do anything for me beyond what is legally required. So first I want to have a better understanding of the regulations.

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    Not sure this is really an expat question (it's a problem locals face) but you can find info on that on service-public.fr. The Lyon area is a zone tendue and Villeurbanne is part of it so it's indeed one month for all rental agreements there. Even if it wasn't, note that there are a number of exceptions (like losing your job). – Gala Oct 26 '16 at 11:22
  • @Gala Thanks. Do you know if this also applies if my lease spells out "three months" and I signed it? – Carl Oct 26 '16 at 14:54
  • @Gala I want to stay on topic, but I really don't understand what is wrong with this question, even after going through the Tour once again. Isn't renting a place, and possibly having to leave on short notice a typical problem for people who move abroad? Even the fact that the notice period is government regulated might be completely unexpected to many who are not locals, and looking all this up in a language we are novices in is quite difficult. Also, I have the impression that practically everything that is not visa or residence permit related affects locals too ... – Carl Oct 26 '16 at 18:31
  • Yes, it's a fine line but on the flip side, we don't want this site to turn into a generic advice site on housing, labour law, relationships, etc. because those are issues expats face. – Gala Oct 27 '16 at 8:12
  • Regarding your other question: Yes, I think it applies, although it's a bit complicated and also depends on when your lease was signed (before or after the law went into effect at the end of 2014). Note that if you have to leave the country (either for your current job or because you lost it, but not if you just quit), you probably qualify for a one-month notice period anyway (that's a much older rule). There are a few procedural pitfalls however, you must inform the landlord by registered mail and you must get him to show up for an appointment to hand over the flat and the keys. – Gala Oct 27 '16 at 8:14

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