Montpellier has capped rent levels since 2022. The scheme covers the city of Montpellier alone: neighbouring towns follow different rules, set out further down this page. We have transcribed the entire prefectural schedule so that you can check your own situation.
The figures below are those of the prefectural order applicable from July 1, 2026 to November 23, 2026. They are based on rents observed in 2025 by the Montpellier local rent observatory.
View the prefectural order and its district mapThe increased reference rent equals 120% of the median reference rent. It is expressed excluding charges, per square metre of habitable floor area. It is a mandatory cap: no clause in the lease can set it aside.
The five districts are defined by the map annexed to the prefectural order.
Habitable floor area within the meaning of the Boutin Act, which differs from the Carrez private floor area.
Optional. Enter an amount to check whether it complies.
Maximum rent for 45m²
€720
per month, excluding charges
This calculator reproduces the official schedule and nothing more. The date the lease was signed, the type of contract and any rent supplement may alter the amount actually chargeable.
A property may fall under one, the other, both or neither. Confusing them leads to publishing an unlawful advertisement or, conversely, to forgoing a perfectly legal increase.
This is the scheme described on this page. It sets a maximum rent per square metre, applicable both to new lettings and to lease renewals. It comes from article 140 of the ELAN Act and covers the city of Montpellier alone. The prefect revises the amounts every year.
This is a separate rule, tied to the town being classified as a high-demand area. It sets no cap per square metre: it prohibits reletting above the last rent charged to the previous tenant, apart from indexation on the reference rent index and improvement works. It has no end date.
It applies throughout France wherever the lease contains an indexation clause, and remains independent of the two rules above. It allows one increase per year, on the date agreed in the contract.
Control of rent levels applies to the city of Montpellier alone. A property in Castelnau-le-Lez, Montferrier-sur-Lez, Saint-Clément-de-Rivière, Prades-le-Lez or Saint-Gély-du-Fesc is subject to no maximum rent per square metre, however close it may be to Montpellier.
The absence of a cap does not mean the absence of rules. Depending on their classification as high-demand areas, these towns remain subject to the control of rent increases on reletting, as well as to the tenant’s reduced one-month notice period.
Check whether a town is a high-demand areaAny advertisement for a property in Montpellier states the increased reference rent and, where applicable, the amount of the rent supplement. Omitting them exposes the landlord to an administrative fine.
The lease sets out the reference rent, the increased reference rent and, where applicable, the rent supplement together with its justification. These statements determine whether the rent can be enforced against the tenant.
The prefect gives the landlord formal notice to bring the rent back below the cap and refund the excess. Failing that, the administrative fine reaches 5000€ for an individual and 15000€ for a company. The tenant may separately bring an action to have the rent reduced.
A rent supplement is justified by exceptional features of location or comfort, decisive for the rental value, which are neither reflected in the reference rent nor ordinary for properties of the same category. An outstanding view or a large terrace may justify one; a fitted kitchen, a lift or a parking space may not.
The supplement is justified in the lease. The tenant may challenge it before the departmental conciliation board within three months of signature.
No. The cap per square metre covers the city of Montpellier alone. In neighbouring towns the initial rent remains free. All that remains, for towns classified as high-demand areas, is the limit on rent increases between two tenants.
The prefectural order is made under a national experiment limited in time. At its end, and absent a new text, the initial rent would once again be freely set, subject to the control of rent increases. Parliament has debated making the scheme permanent but has not voted it through. We update this page with each official publication.
No. Reference rents are expressed excluding charges. Service charge provisions are called separately and must correspond to genuinely recoverable expenditure, reconciled each year against supporting documents.
Yes. For each combination of district, number of rooms and construction period, the order publishes a furnished-letting increment added to the median reference rent. The calculator above applies it as soon as you select furnished letting.
The five districts are defined by a map annexed to the prefectural order, available online. We do not reproduce any neighbourhood breakdown here: the boundary sometimes runs down the middle of a street, and an approximation would mean stating the wrong cap.
The cap applies to new lettings and to lease renewals. It does not apply retroactively to the rent under a lease already running, which continues to follow its annual indexation clause.
We check the rent against the cap before the property goes on the market and we draft the lease with the statements the order requires. Responsibility for the cap is no longer yours.
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