( your situation · performing arts worker )
RENTAL APPLICATION AS A performing arts worker IN FRANCE :
REASSURING A LANDLORD who does not know your status
You are a performer or a technician under France’s intermittent du spectacle regime: you chain short fixed-term contracts, and your income mixes fees (cachets) with benefits paid by France Travail. To you it is a stable, regulated system; to a landlord it is unreadable, and many agencies reject it out of ignorance. A good rental file does the explaining for you: it translates your regime into an average monthly income, proves its regularity and adds a guarantee. Here is what to provide, how to present it, and how La Maraisienne prepares it in 10 minutes.
Why landlords hesitate with intermittents
Three reasons, all rooted in not knowing the regime. First, no permanent contract: your contracts sometimes last a day, and an agency that reads “fixed-term” thinks “precarious”. Second, income in two parts: fees that vary a lot from month to month, and the return-to-work allowance (ARE) paid by France Travail, which many landlords wrongly take for ordinary unemployment benefit. Third, unpaid rent insurance: many GLI policies exclude intermittents or require two years in the regime, so the agency drops your file to keep the landlord’s cover.
What the landlord does not know: the regime (annexes 8 and 10) rests on 507 hours worked over 12 months, your rights are reviewed every year, and the ARE tops up your fees with monthly regularity. Your file must teach them that in three sentences. A landlord cannot reject you solely because of your regime, but they will pick the file they understand.
Documents to provide as an intermittent
The list of documents a landlord may require is fixed by decree no. 2015-1437 of 5 November 2015. For an intermittent, it reads as follows.
| Document | Status | Why it reassures |
|---|---|---|
| Valid ID | Required | The basis of any file. |
| Proof of address (last 3 rent receipts, host certificate…) | Required | Shows a history of paid housing. |
| Proof of professional situation: your latest contracts (CDDU) or employer certificates, and the France Travail notice opening or renewing your rights (annexe 8 or 10) | Required | Proves you are in the regime and until when your rights run. |
| Last three payslips (more if your fees are irregular) | Required | The “fees” part of your income. |
| Proof of ARE payments for the last 3 months (France Travail payment certificate) | Required | The “allowance” part: regular and predictable, to be shown as such. |
| Last or second-to-last tax notice (avis d’imposition) | Required | Gives your real annual income, fees and ARE combined. The most telling figure. |
| Proof of previous rent payments | Recommended | An intermittent already paying a similar rent on time reassures more than any table. |
What cannot be asked of you: bank statements, certificate of no outstanding credit, direct debit authorisation, medical records, criminal record, reservation cheque (service-public F1169).
What actually makes the difference
Having the right documents is necessary, not sufficient. Intermittent files that get accepted share five things.
An average monthly income, calculated and displayed. Add net fees and ARE over the last 12 months, divide by 12, and write the figure at the top of your presentation. The landlord will never do that calculation; if they have to, they move on to the next file. Your tax notice confirms the annual total.
Three sentences about your regime. For example: “I am a lighting technician, intermittent since 2019. My regime (annexe 8) guarantees a regular monthly income: my fees are topped up every month by the ARE paid by France Travail, and my rights are open until [date].” Those three sentences remove 80% of objections.
Seniority in the regime. If you have several renewals behind you, say so and attach the notices: continuity over three or four years is the answer to the word “precarious”.
A guarantee. An individual guarantor if possible. Otherwise Visale, free, open to everyone up to age 30 and beyond under conditions. Otherwise a paid guarantor (GarantMe). A guarantee neutralises the GLI exclusion: the landlord is covered another way. Guarantor, Visale, GarantMe: how it works
Target private landlords. Agencies apply the insurer’s criteria; a private landlord reads your file. With the same file, your chances are much better dealing directly.
What a good intermittent file looks like
La Maraisienne’s Atypique sample shows the structure: a presentation page that explains the situation and gives the average monthly income, then the documents in the order of the list above, clearly labelled. For an intermittent, the presentation states the regime (annexe 8 or 10), the end date of rights and the guarantee. One PDF, readable in two minutes.
How La Maraisienne helps
The Atypique plan (€24.90 per month, no commitment) covers the intermittent case: the flow asks for your contracts, payslips, France Travail certificate and tax notice, not an employment contract you do not have. The AI writes your presentation from what you explain about your work and your regime; you review and adjust it. The PDF updates with every new contract or renewal of rights. See the plans
La Maraisienne does not list apartments and does not connect you with landlords. We prepare your file; you send it to the listings you choose.
Other situations: Freelancer · Expat, newcomer to France
( FAQ )
Frequently asked questions
Can an agency reject my file because I am an intermittent?
Not on that ground alone. In practice the refusal almost always comes from the landlord’s unpaid rent insurance, which excludes certain statuses. A guarantee (guarantor, Visale, GarantMe) lifts that block, and a private landlord often has no GLI.
Does the ARE count as income for a rental file?
Yes. The decree allows the landlord to ask for proof of allowance payments, which amounts to recognising them as a resource. Present the ARE for what it is: a regular top-up built into your regime, not ordinary unemployment benefit.
How many times the rent do I need to earn?
The usual rule is an average net monthly income (fees + ARE) of about three times the rent including charges. A guarantee lets you go below.
I just opened my rights and have no history. What should I do?
Attach your rights-opening notice, your contracts from the last 12 months (the ones that made up the 507 hours), your last tax notice even if it reflects another activity, and above all a guarantee. Explain in the presentation that opening rights proves a year of sustained activity.
My fees are very irregular. How do I present them?
As a 12-month average, never month by month. Attach the tax notice as proof of the annual total and keep the payslips as appendices.
Is Visale open to intermittents?
Yes, with no status condition up to age 30. Beyond that, eligibility depends on your situation: check directly on visale.fr, the application is online and the answer is quick.
Can I also use DossierFacile?
Yes. DossierFacile checks and secures your documents; La Maraisienne writes your presentation and designs the file. The two complement each other.