Move-Out Inspections and Pests: Who Pays What Between Tenant and Landlord (2026 Guide)

Every autumn, between late September and mid-November, letting agencies run one move-out inspection after another. It is the rental turnover season: student leases ending, job relocations, moves squeezed in before the holidays. And every year, the same scene plays out in thousands of French homes.

The landlord or their agent spots rodent droppings behind the dishwasher, black stains on the bed base, or cockroach egg cases stuck under a worktop. A note goes onto the move-out report. Three weeks later, the tenant receives a statement: €480, €900, sometimes €1,800 withheld from the security deposit for "pest treatment".

The mirror scenario exists too: a tenant leaves a home they believed was infested from the day they moved in, never reported it in writing, and discovers they have no way of proving it.

So who pays what? The answer is neither "always the landlord" nor "always the tenant". It depends on three things: when the infestation appeared, which species is involved, and above all the written evidence gathered before the dispute began. This article sets out what the rules in force in 2026 actually say, and the concrete protocol that keeps you from having to argue from memory.

Two black rubbish bags abandoned on the grass at the edge of a pond in a park

The tipping point is almost always the move-in inspection report. A move-in report that says nothing about pests does not prove they were absent, but it deprives the tenant of their strongest argument. Conversely, a handwritten note reading "suspicious traces on kitchen skirting board, photo attached" is worth more than a year of arguing.

What the law says: three texts, one simple logic

Three legal texts shape liability for pests in a rented home.

The criterion of "no infestation by pest and parasitic species" was added to the characteristics of decent housing by the ELAN Act of 23 November 2018, then spelled out in regulations. The direct consequence, widely reported at the time by Le Monde: a home infested with bed bugs or cockroaches cannot legally be put on the rental market.

The resulting logic is in fact fairly easy to read:

• Infestation present or already brewing at the time the keys are handed over → the landlord has breached their delivery obligation. Treatment at their expense.
• Infestation arising during the tenancy through the tenant's own doing (contaminated second-hand furniture, accumulated waste, complete lack of upkeep, untreated pet) → tenant's expense.
• Infestation of collective origin (the building, a refuse chute, a neighbouring flat, shared service ducts) → the responsibility of the co-ownership or managing agent, never of the tenant alone.

That third case is massively under-used. In an apartment building, German cockroaches and rats travel through service ducts, pipework and shafts. Treating a single flat in an infested building is like repainting one cabin on a boat that is taking on water: treatment has to be collective, and it falls under common charges.

Bed bugs: the litigation that shifted the lines

Bed bugs account for the bulk of disputes, for one simple reason: they are hard to date. A female introduced in June may not produce a visible population until September.

Consumer associations, including the CLCV, have documented several rulings in tenants' favour. The consistent trend in case law can be summed up as follows:

• The landlord is bound by an obligation of result regarding delivery: if the infestation is established within weeks of move-in, the presumption works against them.
• Courts readily accept evidence by any means: dated photos, neighbours' statements, a certified pest-control company's report, email exchanges.
• A landlord who does nothing after a written report exposes themselves to a rent reduction, damages, and liability for temporary rehousing.

The critical threshold is how quickly the problem is reported. A tenant who waits six months before writing seriously weakens their position: the landlord can legitimately argue the pests were introduced later. The practical rule fits in one sentence: at the first suspicion, put it in writing — registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, or a time-stamped electronic filing.

What counts for nothing: a text saying "there's bugs in my place", a phone call, an offhand remark to the caretaker. What counts: a registered letter describing the rooms affected, the date of first observation, the symptoms, with time-stamped photos attached and, if possible, a preserved specimen.

Three signs routinely mistaken for ordinary wear

Photographing these clues with a ruler or a coin in the frame changes everything before a judge: the scale makes identification possible. A bed bug detection kit, made up of interception traps placed under the bed legs, delivers within a week physical proof far more solid than any written description — and it costs less than an hour of legal advice.

Withholding from the security deposit: what a landlord can and cannot do

The security deposit is not a fund the landlord can dip into. Article 22 of the Act of 6 July 1989 sets strict limits on deductions: they must be backed by documents (quotes, invoices, a joint inspection report), and the balance returned within one month if the move-out report matches the move-in report, two months where there are discrepancies.

What a landlord may legitimately withhold:

• The cost of pest treatment if and only if the move-in report described a clean property, the move-out inspection establishes an infestation, and a tenant-related origin is plausible.
• Directly related material damage (destroyed furniture supplied with the let, surfaces chewed through by rodents).

What they may not withhold:

• A preventive treatment for peace of mind, with no infestation established.
• The cost of a building-wide treatment falling under common charges.
• A flat-rate sum not supported by an actual invoice.
• An infestation already noted at move-in, or reported during the tenancy and left unanswered.

Where a deduction is abusive, the tenant has a deterrent lever: a penalty of 10% of the monthly rent for each month of delay in returning the deposit, provided for by that same article 22.

White bin bags tied with orange ties, piled up on the pavement in bright sunshine

The evidence protocol: thirty minutes worth a thousand euros

Whether you are the tenant or the owner, the documentary discipline is the same. It breaks down into four stages.

1. On moving in — the same day

Before unpacking a single box, walk through the property with a phone and a torch. The five zones to inspect without fail:

• Bed base and headboard (if furnished): seams, screws, internal corners.
• Kitchen skirting boards and the backs of appliances.
• Cupboard under the sink: beneath the waste, around the water supply, where pipes pass through.
• Roller-shutter housings and exposed service ducts.
• Bin store and cellar, where accessible, to gauge the pressure from the building itself.

A UV LED torch instantly reveals rodent urine traces, which fluoresce, along with certain soiling invisible to the naked eye. Thirty minutes, and every time-stamped photo becomes a piece of your file.

2. During the tenancy — report fast and in writing

Every report goes in writing. Describe: the date of first observation, the rooms affected, the nature of the clues, the approximate numbers. Attach the photos. Keep a copy. A diligent landlord responds by arranging a visit from a company that is Certibiocide certified — a mandatory qualification for the professional use of biocidal products, and the first filter for credibility.

The tenant has a real obligation of their own: to grant access to the property for diagnosis and treatment, and to carry out the preparation requested (moving furniture away from walls, washing linen at 60 °C, bagging items). A documented refusal of access reverses liability.

3. Between two tenants — the landlord's position

On the owner's side, the best protection comes early. A survey before re-letting, even a basic one, makes it possible to date the property's sanitary condition. Placing discreet monitoring traps — a few sticky cockroach traps under the sink and behind the fridge — during the two weeks of vacancy costs a few euros and provides an objective baseline: zero catches over a fortnight means a reasonably clean property, and it is on record.

Adding a five-line pest checklist to the move-in report (kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, living room, outbuildings), signed by both parties, eliminates 80% of future disputes.

4. On moving out — the joint inspection

The move-out inspection must be contradictoire, that is, carried out jointly in the presence of both parties or their agents. A report drawn up unilaterally, with the tenant absent and never summoned, cannot be relied on against them. Where disagreement persists, a commissaire de justice (formerly a bailiff) can be instructed; the fees are then split equally, unless one party has failed to act.

Tied black bin bags standing against a light-coloured wall in the street

Remedies when talking gets you nowhere

Escalation works in steps, and skipping stages weakens your case.

1. A registered letter of formal notice, with a reasonable deadline (15 days to reply, one month to act).
2. The departmental conciliation commission (commission départementale de conciliation, CDC), free of charge and accessible by simple letter. It has jurisdiction over disputes about the security deposit and housing decency. Its opinion is not binding but carries weight before a judge.
3. The municipal hygiene and health service (SCHS) or the ARS: where unfitness is clearly established, they can order an inspection and, where appropriate, issue a formal order.
4. The juge des contentieux de la protection at the judicial court. Ordinary tenancy disputes can be brought without a lawyer. Mind the time limit: the action is barred after three years (article 7-1 of the 1989 Act).

Your department's ADIL (departmental housing information agency) offers free, neutral legal advice; it is the first useful move before running up any costs.

Reducing the risk on both sides

Beyond the law, a handful of practical measures change the very odds of a dispute.

• Block the entry points. A mouse gets through a 6 mm gap, a rat through 20 mm. Stainless steel wool packed into pipe penetrations, then covered with filler mortar, shuts those entrances down for good. It is routine maintenance, cheap, and both tenant and landlord have an interest in seeing it done.
• Protect the bedding. A full bed bug encasement, zipped on all six sides, isolates mattress and bed base. It serves prevention and proof alike: a mattress that has been encased since move-in makes the external origin of any later infestation indisputable.
• Dry things out. Cockroaches, silverfish and rodents all need water. An unreported leak under the sink is an aggravating factor courts hold against whoever let it run.
• Document second-hand furniture. A sofa picked up off the pavement is the number one vector of bed bugs in student housing. Photographing the date it came in paradoxically protects the tenant: it shows a deliberate effort at vigilance.

The key takeaways

• The landlord must deliver a home free from infestation: this has been a condition of decency since the ELAN Act.
• The tenant must maintain the property, report promptly in writing, and grant access for treatment.
• A building-wide infestation falls under co-ownership charges, not the tenant.
• Any deduction from the security deposit must be backed by genuine documents, within one to two months.
• Thirty minutes of time-stamped photos at move-in beat three months of litigation.

According to Ipsos surveys and figures reported by BFM in February 2026, close to two French people in three have experienced an infestation over the past five years. At that scale, tenancy disputes are no longer the exception: they are a routine management risk. The best response remains the same for both parties — a written, precise, dated record, and documented professional intervention from the very first sign.

This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute tailored legal advice. For a specific situation, contact the ADIL in your department or a legal professional.