Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified French notaire, avocat, or chartered accountant before acting on anything you read here. The English Investor accepts no liability for decisions taken on the basis of this article.
If you own a long-term residential let in France, the single most important number you’ll see this year is the indice de référence des loyers (the IRL — France’s reference rent index). On 15 April 2026, INSEE — France’s national statistics agency, the equivalent of the UK’s ONS — published the index for the first quarter of 2026: it stands at 146.60, a year-on-year increase of +0.78%. That figure caps how much rent you can lawfully add to a French residential lease this year. It is also the figure that catches British landlords by surprise twice over — once because the mechanism is unfamiliar (UK monthly rent reviews don’t have a national index), and once because the rules around invoking the revision are unforgiving (miss the one-year window and you forfeit it for good).
This article walks through the entire mechanism for a UK landlord with a French residential rental. What the IRL is and why it exists, how the article 17-1 rent revision works in practice, the specific Q1 2026 numbers, the carve-out for the overseas departments and Corsica, the DPE-driven rent freeze for energy-inefficient properties, and the one-year deadline that turns the revision into a use-it-or-lose-it option. For the wider tax calendar that this collides with, our French tax deadlines 2026 guide is the reference; for the DPE rules that may freeze the revision entirely, our DPE 2026 guide covers the energy-rating regime in detail.
What the IRL actually is
The indice de référence des loyers is a quarterly index published by INSEE that caps the maximum rent increase a French landlord can apply to a residential lease subject to the loi du 6 juillet 1989 (the loi Mermaz, which governs the great majority of long-term residential lettings in France — the equivalent of the UK’s standard assured shorthold tenancy framework). Where UK rent reviews tend to be agreed individually, indexed to RPI/CPI, or pushed to a tribunal, the French system imposes a single national cap: whatever rent rise you put in your lease, you cannot exceed the year-on-year change in the IRL.
The mechanics behind the index are deliberately conservative. The IRL tracks the consumer price index excluding tobacco and excluding rents themselves, computed as a twelve-month moving average. Excluding tobacco removes the volatility of cigarette taxation; excluding rents avoids the index becoming circular (rents inflating because rents are inflating). The twelve-month moving average smooths out short-term spikes — meaning the IRL responds to inflation with a lag of roughly a year, and never moves as far as the underlying inflation rate in either direction.
For British landlords, the practical takeaway is: French residential rent indexation is structurally slower, smaller, and more predictable than UK market norms. In an average year, the IRL adds a fraction of a percentage point to your rent. Even in the recent high-inflation period (2022-2023) where it ran well above 3%, the legislature stepped in to cap the variation at 3.5% under the loi du 16 août 2022. You will almost never see double-digit upward revisions in France, regardless of what’s happening to the broader cost of living.
The Q1 2026 number in context
The Q1 2026 IRL of 146.60, a year-on-year increase of +0.78%, is essentially flat against the previous quarter (Q4 2025 was +0.79%) and continues a downward trend that has been in place since late 2024 as broader French inflation cooled. The recent historical context is striking: the IRL was running well above 3% during 2022-2023, prompting the legislature to introduce a temporary “bouclier loyer” capping the variation at 3.5% in metropolitan France (2.5% in the DOM, 2% in Corsica) under the loi du 16 août 2022, extended through Q1 2024 by the loi du 7 juillet 2023. The cap has now lapsed and the underlying mechanism is back to delivering the small fractional increases that were typical pre-pandemic. A British landlord whose lease anchors on the Q1 IRL will see a much smaller rent increase this year than they could have applied at the 2022-2023 peak — but the increase is still positive, and it is still the maximum the law allows.
The arithmetic is straightforward. If your monthly rent on the date of revision is €1,200, and your lease anchors on the Q1 2026 IRL with a previous reference quarter being Q1 2025, the maximum new rent is €1,200 × (1 + 0.78%) = €1,209.36. The €9.36 monthly increase compounds over a year to roughly €112 of additional rent — modest, but real, and one that requires the landlord to actively claim it within a defined window (more on that below).
How article 17-1 of the loi du 6 juillet 1989 actually works
The legal mechanism is set out in article 17-1, I, of the loi n° 89-462 of 6 July 1989. The provision is short but important. In plain English, it provides that:
- Rent revision must be expressly contemplated by the lease. If the lease contains no revision clause, the rent stays where it is. The default is no revision, not automatic indexation.
- Where the lease provides for revision, the revision happens once a year, on the date agreed between the parties or, in the absence of an agreed date, at the end of each contractual year.
- The rent increase cannot exceed the year-on-year change in the IRL for the chosen reference quarter. The lease usually specifies which quarter — a Q1 lease anchor uses each year’s Q1 IRL as the reference.
- If no reference quarter is fixed in the lease, the default is the most recent IRL published at the date of signature. So a lease signed in May 2026 with no specified anchor will use the Q1 2026 IRL going forward.
- The landlord has one year to invoke the revision. If the landlord does not express the intention to apply the revision within twelve months of the date the revision could take effect, they are deemed to have waived the benefit of the clause for that year. Where the landlord does invoke the revision within the year, the revision takes effect from the date of the request — not retroactively to the start of the year.
The waiver point is the trap that catches the most British landlords. If your lease anniversary falls on 1 May 2026 and you forget to write to your tenant by 30 April 2027 to apply the IRL revision, the clause is treated as waived for that year. You cannot retroactively claim the missed indexation. The rent simply stays where it was — and the next year’s revision starts from the unrevised base, compounding the loss across the rest of the lease. For a non-resident UK landlord coordinating with a French agency or doing it themselves, the calendar discipline is the operationally hardest part.
The mechanics of invoking the revision
To apply the revision, the landlord must communicate the new rent to the tenant in writing, supported by the IRL calculation. There is no statutory form, but practitioners typically use a lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception (registered letter with proof of receipt) for evidentiary purposes. The letter should set out the previous rent, the previous reference IRL, the current reference IRL, the percentage change, and the new rent. The new rent then takes effect from the date of the letter (more precisely, from the date the request was made), not from the lease anniversary.
Where the landlord uses a French letting agency or property manager, the agent will normally handle this automatically. Where the landlord manages remotely from the UK, the calendar discipline is on them. A diary entry one month before each annual lease anniversary, with the relevant Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 IRL number plugged in, is the operational solution.
The DOM and Corsica: separate IRLs since Q3 2022
Since the third quarter of 2022, INSEE has published two separate IRL series for France’s overseas territories and Corsica, alongside the metropolitan France-wide index. For Q1 2026:
- France entière (which includes both metropolitan France and the départements/régions d’outre-mer of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, La Réunion, and Mayotte): IRL = 146.60
- Régions d’outre-mer (a separate specific index for the DOM only): IRL = 143.78
- Corse (a separate specific index for the Corsican territorial collectivity): IRL = 142.38
The split was introduced because the price-index dynamics in the DOM and Corsica diverge meaningfully from those of mainland France — driven by different consumer baskets, transport costs, and structural factors. A British landlord who owns property in those territories should anchor on the appropriate specific index rather than the France-entière figure. For the rest of the country (which is most of the audience for a guide written for UK investors), the 146.60 figure is the relevant anchor.
The DPE F/G freeze: when you cannot apply the IRL revision at all
This is the consequential overlay that most British landlords miss. Since the loi Climat et Résilience of 22 August 2021 (article 159) and its implementing décret n° 2022-1079 of 29 July 2022, properties classified F or G on the diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE) — the energy-performance rating — are excluded from rent revision under article 17-1, regardless of what the IRL says. The freeze applies from 24 August 2022 for new and renewed leases, and to mid-lease revision for existing leases as well. As long as the property remains classified F or G, no rent increase is permitted, even if the rent is below the local market price and even if the IRL has risen since the previous revision.
The interaction between the IRL revision and the DPE freeze is unforgiving. A British landlord who routinely applies the +0.78% Q1 2026 increase on a property they didn’t realise had been re-classified as F under the post-2021 DPE rules has technically over-charged the tenant — and the tenant can in principle demand reimbursement. The fix is to verify the property’s current DPE rating before issuing any IRL revision letter, and to document that verification. For the wider DPE picture and the in-flight Lecornu housing-bill softening, our DPE 2026 guide is the reference, and our post on the Lecornu DPE update covers the very recent April 2026 developments.
The fact that you cannot raise the rent on a poorly-rated property changes the renovation maths. A €1,200/month rent on a F-rated property in Paris that gets re-classified to D after €30,000 of insulation works isn’t just legal-to-let-again under the DPE rules — it’s also legal-to-revise-again under the IRL rules. The compounded benefit of getting back into IRL revision over a 10-year holding period can substantially recoup the upfront renovation cost.
Zone tendue, rent caps, and the IRL at re-letting
The article 17-1 mechanism we’ve covered so far concerns mid-lease revision. A separate but related rule applies to re-letting — what happens when a tenant leaves and the landlord lets the property to a new tenant. In zone tendue (the rent-pressure areas listed by décret, which include Paris, the Île-de-France, and most major French cities), the rent at re-letting cannot exceed the previous rent indexed by the IRL. The same rule applies on lease renewal.
Outside zone tendue, the landlord can in principle ask any rent at re-letting (subject to market conditions and the freeze for F/G properties). Inside zone tendue, the IRL is effectively a permanent cap on rent levels — not just on annual revision but on what you can charge a new tenant. For most British investors with property in Paris or the major regional cities, this is the practical regime: the IRL caps both your annual revision and your reset on tenant turnover.
A worked example for British landlords
Consider a British landlord who owns a 50m² flat in Lyon, let on a long-term residential lease at €1,000/month signed in March 2025, with a clause anchoring the rent revision on the Q1 IRL each year. The property is DPE-rated D.
- The first revision opportunity falls on the lease anniversary in March 2026.
- The relevant IRL change is +0.78% (Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025).
- The maximum new rent is €1,000 × (1 + 0.78%) = €1,007.80/month, an increase of €7.80.
- The landlord must communicate this to the tenant in writing within twelve months of the March 2026 anniversary, otherwise the right to apply the 2026 revision is waived.
- The new rent applies from the date of the communication, not from the March anniversary.
- If the landlord forgets and only writes in April 2027, the 2026 revision is gone permanently. They can apply the 2027 revision (whatever the Q1 2027 IRL change is) on top of the original €1,000 base, not on top of the missed €1,007.80.
Now consider the same landlord, same lease, but the property is DPE-rated F. The article 17-1 revision is blocked entirely under article 159 of the loi Climat. The landlord cannot apply the +0.78% to that property, regardless of the timing or paperwork. Until the property is renovated and re-rated to E or above, the rent stays at €1,000 nominally — meaning every passing year of inflation erodes the real-terms value of the income.
What this means for British landlords in practice
Verify the DPE rating before sending an IRL revision letter. Where the property is rated F or G, the revision is blocked. A landlord who applies the IRL increase regardless has overcharged the tenant and is exposed to a reimbursement claim. The DPE certificate has a 10-year validity but ratings are routinely re-assessed during sales and major works — verify the current rating before each annual revision, especially for older properties at the borderline.
Diary the one-year window. Article 17-1 is a use-it-or-lose-it provision. Set a calendar reminder one month before each lease anniversary with the current Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 IRL number plugged in, and a template revision letter ready to send. For multi-property portfolios, consider a single-page tracker tied to lease anniversaries.
Use a registered letter for the revision. The lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception (LRAR) creates a clean evidentiary record of the date the request was made — which is the date the new rent takes effect. Email is technically permissible if the lease so provides, but it is harder to prove receipt. The notional cost of a French LRAR (around €6) is far less than the cost of a disputed revision date.
Don’t expect the IRL to keep up with UK inflation. The conservative design of the index (12-month moving average, excluding tobacco and rents) means the IRL trails general inflation in either direction. In high-inflation years your French rental income will lose real-terms value relative to your UK costs; in disinflationary periods the IRL will still allow modest increases even when UK inflation is near zero. This is structural, not a bug — French rent regulation deliberately sacrifices full inflation pass-through in favour of stability for tenants. Plan accordingly.
Consider whether DPE-driven renovation pays back through IRL recovery. A property that drops from F to E re-enters IRL revision. Over a 10-year hold, that’s typically 10-20% of compounded indexation that the F-rated property loses. Combined with the letting ban for G (already in force) and the upcoming letting ban for F (in flux under the Lecornu housing bill), the case for renovation has both a regulatory and a yield-recovery component.
Make sure the lease has a revision clause at all. If the lease was signed without a clause de révision, the rent is fixed for the whole term — no IRL revision is possible. New leases drafted by a French agency will normally include a standard revision clause, but bespoke leases drafted privately may not. A non-resident landlord should verify this when the lease is first signed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the IRL for Q1 2026?
The IRL for the first quarter of 2026 stands at 146.60, representing a year-on-year increase of +0.78%. INSEE published the figure on 15 April 2026. Separate specific indices apply to the départements d’outre-mer (143.78) and Corsica (142.38).
How much can I raise my French tenant’s rent in 2026?
For a lease anchoring on the Q1 IRL, the maximum increase is +0.78% on the previous rent, applied at the lease anniversary. The exact figure depends on the reference quarter chosen in the lease (Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4) — the IRL change between the same quarter of the previous year and the current year is the cap. For F or G-rated properties, no increase is permitted under article 159 of the loi Climat, regardless of the IRL.
What happens if I forget to apply the rent revision?
Under article 17-1, I, of the loi du 6 juillet 1989, you have one year from the revision date to invoke it. If you don’t communicate the revision to the tenant in writing within that twelve-month window, you are deemed to have waived the revision for that year. The rent stays at the previous level and the next year’s revision starts from the unrevised base. The waiver is permanent for the missed year — there is no retroactive recovery.
Does the IRL revision apply to F or G-rated properties?
No. Article 159 of the loi Climat n° 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021, and its implementing décret n° 2022-1079 of 29 July 2022, freeze rent revision and re-letting increases for properties classified F or G on the DPE. The freeze applies from 24 August 2022 to all new, renewed, and tacitly-renewed leases, and to mid-lease revision for existing leases. The freeze remains in place until the property is re-classified to E or above through energy-performance works.
What is the difference between the France-entière IRL and the DOM/Corsica indices?
Since Q3 2022, INSEE has published three IRL series: a France-entière index (covering metropolitan France plus the overseas departments and Corsica), a specific index for the DOM only, and a specific index for Corsica only. The three series can diverge because price-index dynamics differ across these regions. For a property in metropolitan France, anchor on the France-entière figure (146.60 for Q1 2026); for a property in the DOM or Corsica, use the territory-specific figure.
Can I apply the IRL revision retroactively if I missed an earlier year?
No. If you missed an earlier annual revision and the one-year window has lapsed, that year’s revision is permanently waived. You can apply this year’s revision on the unrevised base going forward, but you cannot recover the cumulative compounding lost from the missed year(s). The waiver applies to that specific revision year and does not extinguish the clause for future years.
Does the IRL apply to short-term tourist lettings?
No. The IRL revision under article 17-1 applies only to long-term residential leases governed by the loi du 6 juillet 1989 (typically 3-year leases for unfurnished and 1-year leases for furnished principal-residence lettings). Short-term meublé de tourisme lettings — the Airbnb-style market — fall outside the regime entirely. Our guide to short-let regulation in France covers the separate framework that applies to those.
What if my lease has no revision clause at all?
Then no annual revision is possible. The rent is fixed for the entire term of the lease. Article 17-1 only operates where the lease expressly contemplates revision; in its absence, there is no statutory default that overrides the parties’ silence. New leases drafted by a French agency normally include a standard revision clause, but bespoke leases may not.
