The Visale guarantee
a free surety, for you and your tenant alike
Visale is the Action Logement program that replaces the traditional guarantor. Free for everyone, no deductible, no waiting period. And Alpaca Immobilier handles the approval and monitoring on your behalf.
Alpaca Immobilier, Visale partner agency
0 €
For the landlord and the tenant alike
36 months
Of unpaid rent covered
2 months
Of rent for property damage
5 days
Reimbursement delay after declaration
How it works
In practice, how does it work?
Visale is not insurance. It is a surety - as if a strong third party were guaranteeing your tenant. In case of unpaid rent, Action Logement reimburses you, then recovers the amount from the tenant. You remain the owner of your property, you receive your rent, and Action Logement handles the recovery.
The tenant obtains their Visale visa
Before signing the lease, the tenant applies on visale.fr. If eligible, they receive a visa valid for 3 months. This visa is their key - without it, no surety contract is possible.
The visa must be obtained BEFORE the lease is signed. If obtained afterwards, the guarantee does not apply.
Alpaca Immobilier registers the surety contract
We log into our landlord account on visale.fr, enter the visa number, the property details and the rent amount. A surety contract is automatically generated. We validate it, and the guarantee is active.
Lease signed, guarantee active from month one
The guarantee starts when the lease is signed and covers the first 36 months. During this entire period, if the tenant does not pay, we declare the unpaid rent online. No bailiff, no procedure to initiate on your end - Action Logement takes care of it.
In case of unpaid rent: 2-month delay, then reimbursement
Here is what you need to understand about how it actually works: Visale does not kick in at the first missed payment. The declaration is made from the 1st unpaid rent, but Action Logement waits until the unpaid amount reaches 2 months to trigger the reimbursement. There is no deductible - the 2 unpaid months are fully reimbursed - but there is a cash flow delay to anticipate. Once the subrogation receipt is validated online, the transfer is made within 5 business days.
Action Logement is subrogated in your rights
From that point on, Action Logement takes over. They manage the repayment plan with the tenant, any potential procedures (lease termination, eviction), until their debt is repaid. During the 3 years of guarantee, you have nothing else to do but update the file online each month.
What is covered
What Visale covers - and what it does not
The Visale guarantee covers two main risks. But it also has clear limitations that are worth knowing before signing.
Unpaid rent (private sector)
Up to 36 monthly payments of rent + service charges, during the first 3 years of the lease.
Unpaid rent beyond the 36th month, even if the tenant is still in place. Past this deadline, no safety net.
Property damage
Restoration costs attributable to the tenant, up to 2 months of rent and charges. Assessed by comparing the move-in and move-out property inspections.
Damage to furniture and appliances (only structural property damage). Costs beyond 2 months.
Recovery / eviction procedures
Action Logement handles all steps: repayment plan, legal proceedings, eviction if necessary - during the 3 years of guarantee.
Beyond 3 years, you are on your own. That is why switching to a GLI as soon as possible remains the best strategy.
Unpaid rent (private sector)
Covered
Up to 36 monthly payments of rent + service charges, during the first 3 years of the lease.
Not covered
Unpaid rent beyond the 36th month, even if the tenant is still in place. Past this deadline, no safety net.
Property damage
Covered
Restoration costs attributable to the tenant, up to 2 months of rent and charges. Assessed by comparing the move-in and move-out property inspections.
Not covered
Damage to furniture and appliances (only structural property damage). Costs beyond 2 months.
Recovery / eviction procedures
Covered
Action Logement handles all steps: repayment plan, legal proceedings, eviction if necessary - during the 3 years of guarantee.
Not covered
Beyond 3 years, you are on your own. That is why switching to a GLI as soon as possible remains the best strategy.
Visale cannot be combined with another guarantee (personal surety, GLI, other insurance) for the same risks. The law prohibits it. Subscribing to both Visale and a GLI makes one of the two contracts void.
Source : visale.fr - Landlord FAQ
Eligibility
Not all your tenants can benefit from Visale
This is the key point. Visale is a targeted program - it is designed for profiles that private insurers rarely accept. Before offering Visale to a candidate, check that they fall into one of these categories.
Under 30 years old
Any tenant aged 18 to 30 is eligible, with no income or employment conditions - student, apprentice, employee, job seeker, civil servant. This is the typical profile Visale was designed for.
No income requirements30 and over: private sector employee
Beyond 30, the tenant must be a private sector employee. Two cases: in professional mobility (permanent contract on probation, fixed-term contract under 6 months, transfer, job offer) OR with a net monthly income of 1 710€ or less (threshold raised in January 2026).
Income conditions applyMobility lease
For any mobility lease (1 to 10 months, tenant on temporary assignment, student, training), Visale applies regardless of age.
All agesExclusion cases
Visale does not apply if:
- The landlord and tenant are from the same family (parents, grandparents, children).
- The visa is not obtained before the lease is signed.
- The rent exceeds the Visale ceiling applicable to the municipality (check on the visale.fr simulator).
- The tenant is a non-scholarship student who is a tax dependent of their parents (special case).
Indicative rent ceilings (January 2026)
Private sector: up to 1 940€ including charges depending on location.
Student flat rate: 600€ outside Paris region, 800€ in the Paris region.
The exact ceiling depends on the municipality and the tenant's income. Check on the official visale.fr simulator.
What you really need to remember
The 4 points we tell you in person
The cash flow delay
Visale reimburses with no deductible and no waiting period - the 2 unpaid months are fully covered. But the reimbursement is not instant. You must declare the unpaid rent, validate the subrogation receipt online, and wait for the transfer (5 business days after validation). For 2 months of rent, expect approximately 6 to 8 weeks between the first missed payment and the actual reimbursement.
The 3-year limit
Visale covers the first 36 months of the lease - no more. If your tenant stays, the guarantee automatically ends at the end of the 36th month. They can reapply for Visale if still eligible, but nothing is automatic. Our advice: as soon as the tenant's situation stabilizes (confirmed permanent contract, sufficient income), we suggest switching to our GLI contract for unlimited duration coverage.
Cannot be combined with another guarantee
Visale or GLI - you have to choose. The law prohibits combining Visale with a personal surety or a Rent Guarantee Insurance for the same risks. If you subscribe to both, one of the contracts is void. At Alpaca Immobilier, we help you make the right choice from the tenant selection stage.
It is not insurance - rent receipts are still issued
When Visale reimburses you for unpaid rent, it is as if your tenant had paid. Subrogation means that Action Logement substitutes for them in your rights - they pay you the amounts, and the debt exists between Action Logement and the tenant. Practical consequence: you issue rent receipts normally every month, even for months reimbursed by Visale.
Visale vs GLI
Visale is ideal to start - the GLI takes over
Both programs protect against unpaid rent, but they do not play in the same league. Here is how we see things at Alpaca Immobilier.
Visale
Action Logement
GLI Galian-SMABTP
Our insurance partner
Cost
0€ for landlord and tenant
2.9% of annual rent incl. tax (paid by the owner)
Eligibility
Targeted profiles (young people, mobility)
Strong applications required (permanent contract, income > 3x rent)
Duration
3 years maximum
Unlimited duration as long as the contract is active
Coverage
36 months of unpaid rent + property damage
Unpaid rent + property damage + legal protection + vacancy (optional)
Procedures
Action Logement handles them
Galian-SMABTP handles them
Rent receipts
To be issued normally
To be issued normally
Cost
Visale
0€ for landlord and tenant
GLI
2.9% of annual rent incl. tax (paid by the owner)
Eligibility
Visale
Targeted profiles (young people, mobility)
GLI
Strong applications required (permanent contract, income > 3x rent)
Duration
Visale
3 years maximum
GLI
Unlimited duration as long as the contract is active
Coverage
Visale
36 months of unpaid rent + property damage
GLI
Unpaid rent + property damage + legal protection + vacancy (optional)
Procedures
Visale
Action Logement handles them
GLI
Galian-SMABTP handles them
Rent receipts
Visale
To be issued normally
GLI
To be issued normally
Our recommendation
For a student, a young worker on a fixed-term contract or someone at the beginning of their career - Visale is often the only viable option and it is an excellent guarantee. For an established tenant with a confirmed permanent contract, the GLI offers more flexibility and unlimited duration coverage. The right strategy: start with Visale, and switch to the GLI as soon as the tenant's profile allows it.
We take care of everything - from approval to monitoring
Obtaining the Visale contract requires a few online steps, and in case of unpaid rent, strict deadlines must be met (formal notice within 15 days, declaration within 30 days). If you miss a deadline, the guarantee does not apply.
By entrusting us with the rental management, we handle the registration of the surety contract as soon as the lease is signed, payment monitoring, declaration in case of unpaid rent within the deadlines, monthly file updates, and monitoring of procedures initiated by Action Logement.
Visale partner agency
Alpaca Immobilier
Alpaca Immobilier supports landlords in Montpellier, Saint-Clement-de-Riviere and Montferrier-sur-Lez throughout the entire process.
Sources
- 1 Action Logement - Visale Guarantee (official presentation)
- 2 Visale.fr - Landlord FAQ: unpaid rent guarantees
- 3 Service-public.fr - Visale Guarantee: surety for the tenant
- 4 Action Logement - Visale updates January 2026
The information on this page is up to date as of April 2026 but may change. To check your tenant's eligibility and the ceilings applicable to your municipality, use the official simulator on visale.fr. This page does not constitute legal advice.