Sign a rental lease electronically

A residential lease can be signed electronically: the law requires a written document, and an electronic document signed with 1-signature.fr is one. The landlord and the tenant each sign on their own, without travelling or printing anything.

What the law says

A residential lease must be drawn up in writing (Law of 6 July 1989, Article 3). The French Civil Code (Code civil) recognises electronic writing as equivalent to writing on paper (Article 1366), and the electronic signature provided it identifies its signatory (Article 1367). No text imposes a particular signature level for a lease.

A lease nonetheless commits the parties for several years, and significant sums are attached to it: rent, security deposit, service charges. A signature that clearly identifies each party is preferable.

Each party signs on their own

1-signature has one person sign, for themselves. For a lease:

1. the landlord signs the lease and sends it to the tenant;
2. the tenant uploads this already-signed PDF, places their signature, and signs in turn.

If there are several tenants, each signs the same file in succession. The previous signature is preserved at each step.

Which level to choose

• Level 3: the signatory's identity is supplied by FranceConnect (the French government's identity login service), and is therefore verified. This is the recommended level for a lease: the landlord knows who signed.
• Level 4: a certificate in your first name and surname, without any identity check. An alternative if you do not have a FranceConnect account.
• Levels 5 and 6: the qualified signature, the legal equivalent of a handwritten signature. For a long lease or a high rent, it is the strongest proof.

What goes with the lease

• The check-in inventory (état des lieux) and the mandatory appendices (diagnostic reports, information notice) can be gathered in the same PDF as the lease, to be signed in one go.
• The guarantee deed (acte de cautionnement) follows its own rules, in particular wording that the guarantor must write personally: find out before having it signed electronically.

Sign the final version: after signing, any modification breaks the signature. And download the signed document and its evidence file within seven days.