We know that France is experiencing a serious housing crisis. Between the density in cities, the decline in construction, second homes and Airbnb, rental houses and apartments are increasingly difficult to find. And the obstacle course is getting tougher for candidates for housing.
As a direct consequence, this allows owners to increasingly raise their standards for financial guarantees (an income at least equal to three times the amount of the rent, an army of guarantors, deposits equal to the GDP of Albania, etc.) But in addition to getting completely naked, a new trend/constraint appears for candidates: that of having to provide a cover letter. You read correctly: a cover letter to show how this 16 m2 with a view of the trash room is the cocoon of your dreams.
An asset for young candidates looking for accommodation
Formerly reserved for job searching, the cover letter is becoming a new requirement that is spreading at high speed. “I always thought it was normal,” explains 20 Minutes Manon, 24 years old and recently entered the world of work. The first time I applied for an apartment, the owner asked for it, so now I always provide it. »
“I thought it was obligatory, my landlord asked for one for the apartment, it didn’t seem strange to me, I did it,” also testifies Mathieu, 22 years old.
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Like them, several Internet users confirm to us that they systematically include a cover letter in their application file. “It’s quite recent. I don’t know if it comes from the tenants or the owners initially, but it’s a recurring request for two, three years among many of the latter,” Christophe*, who runs a real estate agency in the south of Paris, tells us. and estimates the regular appearance of cover letters to be “after Covid-19”.
A Parisian trend… and illegal
An observation also made by Patrice Petit, head of the Property Administration section at Orpi: “It’s a trend that is especially Parisian. But what is more worrying is that we sometimes see this emanating directly from real estate agencies. »
And for good reason, this practice is completely illegal. Indeed, the Decree No. 2015-1437 of November 5, 2015resulting from the ALUR law, stipulates the documents that may be required – and only them – in the case of private rental. The cover letter is not included. “It’s a way of selecting tenants by studying the quality of the writing, the spelling… And this with the aim of raising the social level of the candidates”, indignant Patrice Petit, who assures that the practice is prohibited within the cooperative of Orpi agencies.
Pressure from owners seeking reassurance…
Christophe also bans it among the documents he asks from candidates… as much as possible. “We inform the owners that this is illegal. But some are particularly pressing and threaten to change service provider if we do not comply…” His solution, “in very rare cases”, is to inform aspiring tenants orally or by telephone that a “small letter of presentation could only push their file” he admits, embarrassed to flirt with the limits of the law: “But if it is on the initiative of the candidate, it is not illegal…”
Although agencies can act as “protection” against abuse by owners, only a third of housing is on the intermediated rental market. Understand: the remaining two thirds are directly managed by owners and lessors, who are sometimes not even aware of the illegality of the request.
Marcel, owner of 12 homes in Paris and its inner suburbs, did not know this before our interview… and does not care. “It’s still my home, I have the right to know who’s staying there, right? », he gets irritated when he learns it. “I don’t just base myself on that, but it gives me a first idea and it helps me in my selection before organizing the visits. The most important thing for me is the spelling and the wording, you can already see if the person is educated. »
…But a new tool of discrimination
Less focused on “education”, Catherine *, who owns two apartments in Paris, has received applications with cover letters without asking. If she hadn’t thought about it at the start, she admits that it weighed in the balance: “I received several reliable files and honestly, another had the advantage. But when I read the situation of the little couple who want to have children… it’s personal, I was touched and so, I selected their file. »
“We are always afraid because we know the neighbors, the business owners, so we don’t want any problems with a problematic tenant. Likewise, we are afraid of unpaid bills and damage, so a little more prevention doesn’t hurt,” she adds to justify the practice.
“The owners are always very worried and that is legitimate,” concedes Mathilde, who works in a real estate agency in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. “But the cover letter – excuse me for the term – is stupid. You can already find them easily on the Internet, it is even easier to falsify than a salary slip. And above all it is one more step in discrimination and racism. You can have a clean, overeducated young person with rich parents who will trash your apartment or throw parties three times a week. And conversely, a modest young person, with an income just below the requirements, obviously from immigration, with whom you will have no problem. It is not an exact science and often even the opposite of what we imagine. You just need a solid file and then it’s down to feeling. »
Lyon and Bordeaux, next cities on the list?
If the practice is mainly concentrated in the capital at the moment, according to several associations specializing in housing, it should quickly spread to other cities in tension. “If this is the case in Paris, it will be the case very soon in Lyon, and undoubtedly after Bordeaux,” comments Jocelyne Herbinski, facilitator of the National Housing Confederation.
Finally, and in order to give some power back to tenants, know that the cover letter required by owners is therefore illegal and offenders can be reported to associations such as the CLCV or directly to the DGCCRF.