Home insurance in France: tenant duty, owner wisdom

No key handover without an insurance certificate: the tenant obligation surprises most newcomers, and the product behind it — the multirisque habitation — is broader than most foreign equivalents.

The tenant obligation

The 1989 tenancy law obliges tenants to insure at least « risques locatifs » (fire, explosion, water damage to the landlord’s property) and to prove it at signature, then yearly on demand. Without it, the landlord can buy insurance on your behalf and bill it with a surcharge, or invoke a termination clause. The bare-minimum policy is a false economy: a full MRH adds your belongings, neighbours’ claims and family liability for a few euros more — €8-30/month for most flats.

What the MRH actually bundles

Fire, water damage, storm, theft (with conditions on entry points and absences), glass, and two quietly powerful blocks: responsabilité civile vie privée — your whole household’s liability for damage caused to anyone, anywhere (children, pets, bicycles) — and legal-assistance options. Declared surface and rooms drive the price; undervaluing contents triggers proportional reduction of claims, the classic French trap.

Claims culture

Water damage between flats is the national sport: an inter-insurer convention (IRSI) makes YOUR insurer the single case handler below €5,000, even when the leak came from the neighbour — fill in the amicable « constat dégât des eaux » form with neighbours and let insurers settle between themselves. Declare claims within 5 working days (2 for theft), photograph everything, keep damaged goods until the expert rules.

Owners

Owner-occupiers of houses are not legally obliged to insure (co-owners must hold liability cover), but mortgage banks expect it and the exposure is absurd to carry alone. Landlords should add the cheap « PNO » owner policy covering vacancy and building-origin damage — see our French pages for the full landlord toolkit.

More expat guides: Insurance in France: the expat’s map · Car insurance in France: the expat mechanics · Health cover in France: sécu + mutuelle, decoded · Pet insurance in France: how the market works.