Setting up a Paris flat: home insurance, electricity, the internet box and the syndic

In Sydney, contents insurance is optional and the power is on when you move in. In Paris, insurance is the law and the lights are your job.

The short version

• Tenants must insure against tenant's risks and show the certificate when they get the keys, then each year if the landlord asks [1].
• If you don't, the landlord can take out a policy for you after a month's formal notice and add the cost to your rent [1].
• Electricity is opened by signing with a supplier. With a Linky meter, Enedis switches it on remotely, usually within 24 hours [2]. Have your 14-digit PDL number ready [3].
• Regulated electricity tariffs rose by an average of 2.5% on 1 August 2026 [4].
• Taxe d'habitation on main homes was abolished in 2023, but your building's rules still bind you as a tenant [5].

Home insurance: not optional

In Australia, plenty of renters skip contents insurance. In France, Article 7 of the 1989 rental law says the tenant must insure against the risks they're responsible for as a tenant, and give the landlord the insurer's certificate (attestation) when they receive the keys, then every year if asked [1].

If you don't provide it, the landlord can send a formal notice. After one month without a response, the landlord can take out insurance on your behalf and recover the premium from you in monthly instalments with the rent, possibly with a surcharge capped by decree [1]. That cover only protects the landlord against your liability. Your own laptop, bike and clothes aren't covered. You're better off arranging your own.

What a policy covers

A standard assurance habitation for tenants (multirisque habitation) usually bundles:

• Risques locatifs: fire, explosion and water damage you cause to the flat or the building. This is the legal minimum [1].
• Responsabilité civile: your liability to others, including the neighbour downstairs when your washing machine leaks. Many French families rely on this for the kids at school too.
• Contents: your belongings, for theft, fire and water damage. Check the limits on valuables and whether a bike in the courtyard counts.
• Dégât des eaux: water damage, by far the most common claim in old Paris buildings. Leaks come through ceilings, and insurers sort it out between them.

Most banks and insurers sell policies online in minutes, and the certificate arrives as a PDF. It's also one of the documents accepted as proof of address, which makes it doubly useful in your first week. Our French paperwork guide explains why that matters.

Your Australian travel insurance won't cover a Paris rental, and Australian home and contents policies don't follow you overseas. Prices depend on size, floor, arrondissement and your contents value, so get two or three quotes.

Electricity: the Linky and your PDL

Almost every Paris flat now has a green Linky smart meter, owned by Enedis, the network operator. Enedis doesn't sell you power. You sign a contract with a supplier, and the supplier asks Enedis to switch the meter on.

1. Find the PDL number. It's a 14-digit number identifying your home on the grid. On a Linky, press the + button until the screen shows "numéro de PRM", which is the same thing [3]. It also appears on any old bill. Ask the landlord or previous tenant, or check the meter yourself when you visit.
2. Read the meter. Take a photo of the index on move-in day. You'll want it if a bill looks wrong.
3. Pick a supplier and an offer. EDF sells the regulated tariff (tarif réglementé, also called tarif Bleu). Other suppliers sell offers indexed to it or fixed for a set period. The national energy ombudsman runs a free, independent comparison tool on energie-info.fr.
4. Choose your power (kVA) and option. A studio rarely needs much. Ask what the previous tenant had. An heures creuses (off-peak) option can suit you if you run the washing machine at night.
5. Sign and give your RIB. Bills are paid by direct debit, so you'll need your French bank account first, or at least the RIB.
6. Wait a day. With a Linky, activation is done remotely in about 24 hours instead of the five days needed with old meters [2].

On prices, regulated tariffs rose by an average of 2.5% including VAT on 1 August 2026 [4]. Your bill depends on use, the power you subscribe to and your option, so a small flat with gas heating costs far less than one with old electric radiators. Check the flat's energy rating (DPE) before signing: an F or G rating usually means bigger winter bills.

Gas and heating

Many Haussmann buildings have collective heating, paid through your monthly charges. Others have individual gas boilers. If you have gas, you open it with a supplier the same way, using the meter's own reference number. Ask the landlord which you have before you move in.

The internet box

In France you don't just buy "the NBN". You choose a box, the operator's router and TV decoder in one. The four big operators are Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free, plus their cheaper sub-brands.

Like everything else, the box is paid by direct debit from a French RIB. Some operators accept a European IBAN from elsewhere in the EU. Ask first.

Taxes, charges and the building rulebook

What you no longer pay

The taxe d'habitation on main residences has been abolished since 1 January 2023 [5]. Older guides and forum posts still mention it, so ignore them. It does still apply to second homes [5]. If you keep a furnished pied-à-terre while living elsewhere, that's a different story.

Charges

Your rent usually comes with monthly charges. These cover building costs the landlord can pass on, such as the caretaker's work, lift maintenance, cleaning of common areas, and often collective heating and the rubbish collection tax. In an unfurnished lease they're usually an advance adjusted once a year against real costs. In a furnished lease they're often a flat amount.

Copropriété and the syndic

Most Paris apartments sit in a copropriété, a building co-owned by all the flat owners and run by a syndic, a managing agent. It's similar to strata in Australia, with a twist: as a tenant you're bound by the building's règlement de copropriété, but you don't vote at the general meeting. Your landlord does.

Things that catch Australians out:

• Quiet hours. Many buildings set rules on noise, especially late at night. Parisian walls and floors are thin.
• Bikes and prams. Some buildings ban them from the hallway or courtyard, others have a dedicated room. Ask before you leave anything downstairs.
• Balconies and windows. Rules can limit what you hang outside, from washing to satellite dishes.
• Works and moves. Moving furniture in can need the syndic's or caretaker's notice, especially if you use the lift. A moving van on the street may need a parking permit from the city.
• The gardien. If your building has a caretaker, introduce yourself. They take in parcels, know the building's quirks and often hold spare keys.

Problems with the building itself, such as a leaking roof or a broken lift, go through your landlord, who raises them with the syndic. Problems inside your flat, such as a broken boiler, also go to the landlord, but small upkeep is your job.

Rubbish and recycling

Paris sorts rubbish into colour-coded bins in the building, typically one for general waste and one for packaging and paper, plus street containers for glass. The rules are posted near the bins. Follow them: the gardien will notice.

Your first-week order of play

1. On signing, get the PDL number and the meter reading.
2. Take out home insurance and send the certificate to your landlord [1].
3. Open your bank account, or at least get a RIB.
4. Sign an electricity contract and, if needed, gas [2].
5. Check fibre eligibility and order your box.
6. Read the building rules, meet the gardien and find the bin room.

Moving in and missing the Aussie way of doing things? Ask in Cooee France, our Facebook group for Australians in France, for tips on insurers, boxes and which operators handled a move well.

Sources

1. Loi n° 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989, article 7 – Légifrance
2. Je déménage : comment avoir de l'électricité dans mon logement équipé d'un compteur Linky ? – Enedis
3. Où trouver le numéro point de livraison (PDL) du compteur Linky ? – Enedis
4. Hausse des tarifs réglementés d'électricité en août 2026 – Énergie-Info
5. Taxe d'habitation sur les résidences secondaires – Service-Public.gouv.fr

Keep reading

• Renting in Paris as an Australian
• Opening a French bank account: the RIB and the right to an account
• Cost of living in Paris vs Sydney and Melbourne
• Shipping your belongings home and customs