Owning a property is often useful for housing your child as a student or working youngster. Nevertheless, how you make this property available must conform with certain norms. Explanation.

Free-up a property that is currently leased

Are you renting out a property you own? Nothing is stopping you from taking the property back to house your child.

However, the way in which you may free-up your property is strictly defined by law.

One thing is certain: nothing can be done during the tenancy. It is necessary to wait until the contract term has expired to take the required steps. The Law of 6 July 1989 stipulates that the landlord must give notice to their tenant at least six months before the end of the tenancy. To the point that a letter must be sent by recorded mail with signature on delivery justifying this, a “notice of recovery of the property for housing purposes”, and specify the identity of the future occupant, in this case, your offspring.

Housing your child for free

Any parent may house their child for free in an apartment or a house that they own. At a time when rent is a significant portion of the average French person’s domestic budget, it’s a real helping hand to a youngster. Nevertheless, the duration of this loan cannot be excessive and extend way beyond the time they are studying. Beyond that, it could even present a problem vis-à-vis the other children. If this housing set-up continues for an excessively long time, this advantageous situation could backfire in the future for the youngster you are housing, notably in terms of inheritance. In effect, a brother or sister that has not “profited” from this “gift” has a right to demand that this be rectified in their inheritance in the form of a pay-out equivalent to the rental value of the property during the time that it was lived in rent-free.

Note: in order to avoid such a situation, parents must treat their children fairly in terms of the use of the apartment. They may draft an agreement for private signature or signature before a notary in order to underline their intention not to “give” the property, but to loan it. This can be useful proof in case of a challenge by a sibling.

Beware: once your child is safely installed in your apartment, it is no longer possible to tax deduct associated charges (works, taxes, etc.) linked to your ownership of this property as the owner of a rental property usually would.