Renting in Monaco: Sectors, Leases and Tenant Rights

Start with the building, not the flat

Monaco's rental law is organised around one date: 1 September 1947. A dwelling in a building completed after that date is in the open sector, and a foreign newcomer can rent it on whatever terms the landlord agrees. A dwelling in a building completed before it is reserved, by law, for people with a long connection to the Principality, and the landlord is not free to choose the tenant. Everything else about renting here — who may apply, how the rent is set, how long the lease runs — follows from which side of that date the building falls.

A fifth pocket exists: the property portfolio of the Caisse Autonome des Retraites, in Monaco and the neighbouring communes, let through its own property department.

The rest of this guide takes the sectors in turn, then covers what applies to every lease: the deposit, the inventory, the leasehold duty and the agency fee. For the search itself — which agencies, what file to prepare, what a viewing should check — see finding and renting a flat; for furnished stock and temporary housing, see furnished rentals.

The open sector: what the market has settled on

The law leaves the open-sector lease to the parties. In practice the Principality's agencies work from a common model, and a tenant should expect:

• Term: one year, renewed by tacit agreement for a further year each time. Three-year leases exist, mainly for families and larger flats.
• Notice: three months before the anniversary date, by registered letter, from either side. The lease can provide otherwise; read the clause.
• Rent: payable quarterly in advance, usually by standing order to the agency. Annual indexation, where provided, is written into the contract; there is no statutory index for this sector.
• Guarantees: proof of income or employment, a bank reference, and often a bank guarantee or a blocked deposit for tenants without Monaco income. A company can sign or guarantee.
• Insurance: the lease will require home insurance covering rental risks from the day of handover — see home insurance.
• Language: French. Have the exit clause, the charges clause and the works clause explained before signing.

Most open-sector flats are let unfurnished. Furnished offers are a minority and carry a premium; the legal framework is the same.

The rent-controlled sector: Law 1.235

Privately owned buildings completed before 1 September 1947 are let under Law No. 1.235 of 28 December 2000. The regime exists to keep Monegasques and long-established residents housed in a market that would otherwise price them out, and it works like this.

Who qualifies. Applicants register with the Direction de l'Habitat as "protected persons" in one of five priority levels: I Monegasque nationals; II persons born of, or adopted by, a Monegasque, resident for at least ten years, together with surviving spouses of Monegasques and parents supporting Monegasque children; III persons born or adopted as minors in Monaco who have lived there continuously since birth, with a parent also born in Monaco; IV persons born in Monaco with continuous residence, and tenants under specified ordinances; V persons resident in Monaco for at least forty consecutive years. For levels II to V the household's income must stay under a ceiling fixed each year by sovereign ordinance, and nobody who owns suitable housing in Monaco — or, for foreigners, in the neighbouring communes — can register.

How a flat is allocated. The owner files a letting offer with the Housing Department, with an inspection certificate less than a year old, and the offer is published in the Journal de Monaco. Registered candidates have fifteen days from publication to respond through the Housing Department; the owner then has fifteen days to choose, in order of priority level (articles 35 and following).

The lease. Article 11 fixes the term at six years, renewed for six years unless one party objects with the proper notice: three months for the tenant (article 13), six months for the landlord (article 14), whose grounds are limited by the law. The deposit may not exceed three months' rent (article 21).

The rent. Article 18 requires the rent to be established by reference to rents applied in the same sector; the Housing Department publishes reference rents each year. Existing rents move with the retail price index — the rate in force from 1 August 2026 is +1.30% (all-households index excluding tobacco). Two State allowances sit on either side of that rent: tenants who qualify receive the Allocation Différentielle de Loyer (Sovereign Ordinance No. 11.155 of 21 March 2025), and owners who acquired their property before 25 December 2004 receive the allocation compensatoire de loyer created by Law No. 1.507 of 5 July 2021, paid by the Housing Department to compensate for the shortfall against open-market values.

The benchmark figures. Each February a ministerial decree fixes the average rents used for that compensation. Arrêté ministériel n° 2026-67 of 17 February 2026, based on leases registered in 2025, gives €66.52 per m² per month for pre-1947 dwellings let outside Laws 1.235 and 887, €39.93 per m² per month for new Law 1.235 lettings, and a differential of €26.59. These are the only official rent figures published in Monaco.

The liberalised sector: Law 887

A second group of pre-1947 buildings, also privately owned, falls under Law No. 887 of 25 June 1970. The landlord may let to a narrower public than the open market but a wider one than Law 1.235: people domiciled in Monaco for five years with at least six months' employment there, people employed in Monaco for five years, Monegasque nationals, and relatives of the landlord. Law 887 lettings are not advertised in the Journal de Monaco; the landlord declares the letting to the Housing Department and must notify a vacancy within eight days of the tenant leaving. Rent and term are otherwise freely agreed. A newcomer will not qualify; a resident who has been employed in Monaco for five years will, and should ask agencies specifically about this stock, which is often better value than the open sector.

The Housing Department can tell you which regime a given address falls under — a useful check before signing anything in an older building, since a letting to an ineligible tenant exposes both parties. Direction de l'Habitat, 5 promenade Honoré II, Hall B, 4th floor, BP 631, 98013 Monaco Cedex; Monday to Friday 9:30–17:00; +377 98 98 80 08 or 98 98 44 81.

The State sector

State-owned housing is let to Monegasque nationals only, allocated by ministerial decision on a points system after each annual call for applications. Occupation is personal: subletting is excluded and the flat cannot be diverted to any other use. The full eligibility, points and application calendar are in the domanial housing guide.

Rules that apply to every lease

Deposit. No more than three months' principal rent, adjustable when the rent is revised, returned within two months of handing back the keys, less duly justified sums owed.

Inventory of fixtures. Drawn up jointly at handover, or failing that by a bailiff at the parties' shared cost, and annexed to the lease. It is the sole reference at the end of the tenancy: what is not recorded at entry is presumed to have been in good condition. Photograph everything on the day.

Leasehold duty. Every lease must be registered with the Department of Tax Services within three months of signature, under pain of penalties. The duty is 1% of the rent and charges for the entire period of occupancy and is paid by the tenant; for leases longer than three years, the first three years are paid at registration and the balance on later notices. The Duty Division receives the public since 2 July 2026 at Terrasses de Fontvieille, 24/26 rue du Gabian, Monday to Friday 9:30–17:00, +377 98 98 81 21 or 98 98 81 22. Three signed originals and the digital lease extract are required; the agency usually files. Keep the receipt — the Residency Section asks for a registered lease as proof of accommodation when you apply for a residence permit.

Agency fee. Members of the Chambre Immobilière Monégasque apply the Chamber's scale: 10% of the first year's rent plus 20% VAT, paid by the tenant once, at signature. Direct lettings between individuals are rare in Monaco.

Charges. Building charges are either included or itemised; the lease must say which. Electricity is contracted with SMEG, water is billed through SMEaux, and the tenant opens both accounts in their own name — see electricity and water.

Termination. Notice by registered letter within the period the lease sets. An exit inventory is booked with the agency; the deposit is settled against the two inventories within two months.

What rents actually are

Because the State publishes no open-sector figure, the only honest answer combines the official benchmark with agency listing data. The 2026 decree puts old buildings let on the open market at €66.52 per m² per month. Post-1947 buildings are dearer: agency market reports place asking rents at roughly €80 per m² in Les Moneghetti and Jardin Exotique, €100–140 in Fontvieille, La Condamine and the port, and €150–190 in the Carré d'Or, with sea views and recent buildings at the top of each range. In monthly terms, a studio is rarely below €3,000–3,500, a two-bedroom in a modern building starts around €7,000–8,000, and the market runs from there into tens of thousands for large flats on the seafront. Treat those as listing averages, not a promise; the real estate prices guide tracks the sales side, and the cost of living guide puts rent in the wider budget.

Disputes

Rental disputes go to the Monegasque courts; in the rent-controlled sector the Housing Department is the first point of contact and the law provides its own procedures for rent and eligibility questions. In every case the entry and exit inventories, the registration receipt and the written notices are the documents that decide — which is why this guide has insisted on all three. For counsel, see legal services in Monaco.

Related reading

• Finding and renting a flat: the practical route
• Furnished rentals and temporary housing
• Domanial (State) housing
• Airbnb and short-term rentals
• Applying for a residence permit
• Home insurance
• Monaco real estate prices