Rental management in Strasbourg: hand over the management and stop thinking about it

Two packages

They differ by what is managed, not by the level of service: a single unit does not require the same follow-up as a whole building.

• Pack Crémant

  Lots isolés

  The full management of a dwelling: rent receipts, collection, rent reviews, accounting follow-up, representation at general meetings.

• Pack Champagne

  Monopropriétés

  The same thing on the scale of an entire building, with technical follow-up and the coordination of works.

A year of management, in practice

The three sections say what is covered. Here is when each step takes place, and which text it rests on.

Every month

Collection of the rent and of the service charge provisions, issuing of the rent receipt, monitoring of late payments. The rent receipt is not a favour: article 21 of the loi du 6 juillet 1989 requires the landlord or his agent to provide it free of charge to a tenant who asks for it. Every transaction can be consulted in your online client area.

Every year

Rent review on its anniversary date, if the lease provides for it, based on the rent reference index published by INSEE (article 17-1 of the 1989 Act). Adjustment of the charges against actual expenditure, with a breakdown by type of charge sent to the tenant one month beforehand (article 23). And the summary you need to declare your property income.

When something breaks

The tenant calls the agency, not you. The request is assessed first: a tenant's repair at their expense, within the meaning of decree n° 87-712 of 26 August 1987, or an owner's expense. Then come the quotes, the coordination of the work and the checking of it. Above the threshold set in your mandate, nothing is committed without your agreement. A claim is followed through to settlement by the insurer.

When the tenant leaves

Receipt of the notice and checking of the notice period, comparison of the incoming and outgoing inventories of fixtures, then return of the deposit, less only those sums that are justified. If the property has to be re-let, the letting is a separate service: la loi ALUR prohibits including it in the management.

Entrusting your property, step by step

Nothing commits you before the mandate is signed.

1. 1.You describe your property

   Address, floor area, type of lease, current rent, tenant in place or property empty: via the form at the bottom of this page, by telephone or at the agency. A property already let is entrusted to us as it stands, the current lease continues.

2. 2.We give you a costed proposal

   It applies the agency's public scale of fees, the one on the fees page, to your annual receipts: the package that matches your property, the band that matches your volume, and the resulting rate, exclusive of tax and inclusive of all taxes.

3. 3.You sign a management mandate

   A written contract, numbered and entered in the agency's register of mandates, as required by the loi Hoguet of 2 January 1970. It sets out the extent of our powers, the term, the fees and the rendering of accounts. What it must contain, and how it is terminated, is detailed in our guide Entrusting your property to rental management.

4. 4.We take over the file

   Signed lease, inventories of condition, amount of the deposit, latest rent receipts, latest service charge reconciliation, tenant's insurance certificate, diagnostics. If another managing agent came before us, it is for them to hand over these documents: we help you draw up the list of what they must return.

5. 5.The tenant is informed, management begins

   They receive the agency's contact details and the new arrangements for paying the rent. From then on, it is the agency they call, and it is to you that we account.

Questions about rental management

Can I entrust a property that is already let?

Yes. The lease binds the landlord and the tenant, not the agency: it continues unchanged, on the same terms. Only the tenant's point of contact and the way the rent is paid change.

My property is empty: can management start straight away?

It must first be let. Finding the tenant, the viewings, the application file, the tenancy agreement and the état des lieux come under letting the property, which loi ALUR prohibits including in the management service: it is a separate service, with its own fee scale, the tenant's share of which is capped per square metre. Management takes over on signature of the tenancy agreement.

What happens if the annual rent review is overlooked?

It is lost. Article 17-1 of the loi du 6 juillet 1989 gives the landlord one year from the date set for requesting it; after that period, he is deemed to have waived it for the year past. Requested within the time limit, it only takes effect from the date of the request, with no catching up on past months. The review date of each lease is part of what the management service keeps track of.

Within what time must the deposit be returned?

Article 22 of the law of 6 July 1989 sets one month from the return of the keys if the état des lieux on departure matches the one on entry, two months otherwise, less any sums still owed and evidenced. Beyond that period, the sum due to the tenant is increased by 10 % of the monthly rent excluding charges for each month of delay commenced.

Can a guarantor be required when an unpaid rent guarantee has been taken out?

As a rule, no. Article 22-1 of the loi du 6 juillet 1989 prohibits, on pain of nullity, requiring a guarantor where the landlord has taken out insurance covering the tenant's obligations, unless the property is let to a student or an apprentice. The garantie loyers impayés we offer is optional and taken out in addition: the choice is made according to the tenant's profile.

Are management fees deductible from my property income?

Under the régime réel, yes: article 31 of the code général des impôts lists among deductible expenses the « fees and commissions paid to a third party for the management of buildings ». They are declared with administration and management costs on the déclaration n° 2044. Under the micro-foncier, the 30 % flat-rate allowance provided for by article 32 is deemed to cover all expenses: nothing further can be deducted.

How do you change managing agent?

The current mandate is terminated at its expiry date, respecting the notice period it provides for, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. The tenancy agreement itself does not change. The former manager then hands over the complete file: tenancy agreements, états des lieux, the deposit held, the latest rent receipts and service charge reconciliations.