Tenants: lending your flat to a friend or relative
Hosting a friend and leaving them your whole flat raise different questions. Here are the checks to make before offering a stay in France.
What this article covers
- Three situations to distinguish
- What the right to host guests protects
- Reread the relevant parts of your lease
A tenant can host friends and family free of charge, but lending the whole flat while away calls for checking the circumstances. Hosting someone at home, lending the property and paid subletting are different arrangements. Before offering dates, reread your lease, check your insurance and seek advice if the proposed use is unclear. This article concerns homes in France.
Three situations to distinguish
When you host a friend for a few days, you continue to use your home and welcome them into your living space. When you leave them the property while you are away, they use it without you being present. If a payment compensates for occupying the property, subletting rules may become relevant. The facts matter more than the name given to the agreement.
| Situation | What to examine |
|---|---|
| You host someone close to you free of charge | The right to host guests, respect for the home and neighbours |
| You leave them your flat while away | Lease conditions, duration and whether you genuinely continue to occupy the home |
| You ask for payment for occupying the property | Subletting rules and any consent required from the landlord |
A holiday stay is different from someone else moving in on a lasting basis. Clarify the duration, lease type and arrangements before drawing conclusions.
What the right to host guests protects
For tenancies governed by the French law of 6 July 1989, Article 4 treats a clause prohibiting tenants from hosting people who do not usually live with them as unwritten. This protects the ability to welcome friends and family. It would therefore be excessive to claim that a landlord must approve every visit or every guest staying free of charge.
However, this principle does not mean every arrangement giving someone exclusive use of the home is always allowed. In a judgment of 10 March 2010, the Cour de cassation distinguished hosting a relative from making the premises available when the tenant no longer actually occupied them. A clause governing lending may therefore need examination. A short absence alone does not justify applying the conclusion of that case to every situation.
Reread the relevant parts of your lease
Gather your contract and its annexes. Identify the provisions about personal occupation, lending the premises, subletting and the permitted use of the property. Do not decide on your own that a clause is valid or invalid because it resembles something you found online.
- Note the exact dates and who would stay there.
- Explain whether you remain the home’s usual occupant and when you return.
- Identify any expenses you plan to share.
- Check the rules for common areas and respecting neighbours.
For social housing, student accommodation, a home provided through work or another special arrangement, have the relevant rules checked. Information about an ordinary private-sector lease may not be sufficient.
If money changes hands, clarify what it pays for
In the common private-housing subletting situations described by France’s Service Public, the landlord must give written consent both to subletting and to the rent. Particular rules depend on the contract. KazaKlub is designed for sharing and lending between members without rent; it does not authorise subletting.
A contribution towards water or heating should be explained and verifiable. Calling a payment “expenses” does not automatically settle its legal classification. Use the method for sharing consumption costs to prepare the discussion, then have the arrangement examined if doubts remain.
Obtain suitable confirmation before the stay
If your lease requires consent for the proposed loan, request it before confirming dates. If anything is ambiguous, an ADIL housing adviser can examine the clauses and explain appropriate steps. Describe the whole situation: a temporary absence, the guests, no rent and any contribution towards expenses.
Also ask your insurer, and ask your friend or relative to check their own policy. Have the cover for this particular stay, its limits and the procedure following damage confirmed. Lending a home free of charge does not guarantee automatic cover. Our article about lending and insurance helps you prepare those questions.
After these checks, explicitly agree the dates, occupants and hosting arrangements. On KazaKlub, an available listing replaces neither the host’s agreement nor the rights needed to offer the home. The platform’s sharing process can then help organise the stay, without requiring an exchange in return.
Frequently asked questions
Must the landlord approve every guest?
No. The right to host guests does not amount to needing prior approval for every friend or relative. However, exclusive use while you are away needs examination in light of the lease and circumstances.
Is lending free of charge always free of formalities?
No. The lease, insurance and housing arrangement may require checks or steps. Free of charge does not automatically mean permitted.
Is a KazaKlub account enough to offer my flat?
No. You must have the necessary rights and comply with the conditions that apply to your home. The platform does not replace them.
Sources and checks
Checked on 23 October 2026 for France: Article 4 of the law of 6 July 1989 (in French); Cour de cassation, 10 March 2010, no. 09-10.412 (in French); Service Public on subletting (in French). For advice suited to your lease: the ADIL network (in French).
Your next stay starts with your circle.
Create your account, bring your friends and family together and prepare your first request.
Every stay requires the host’s agreement.
