Rent index IRL up 1.57%: how rent reviews work in France, and when a landlord cannot raise the rent

On 15 October 2026 Insee published the rent reference index (indice de référence des loyers, IRL) for the third quarter: 148.06 for mainland France. A year earlier, in Q3 2025, it stood at 145.77, so the rise is +1.57%. The quarter before, the annual rise was 1.15%. The index is 143.80 for Corsica and 145.21 for the overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique, La Réunion, Mayotte), also up 1.57%.

Below: how the index works and what it means for anyone renting a home.

What the IRL is

The IRL is the basis for the annual review of the rent on a home let unfurnished or furnished under a residential lease (bail d'habitation). Insee computes it from the 12-month average change in consumer prices, excluding tobacco and rents themselves. It is published every quarter; Insee has scheduled the next one, for Q4, for 15 January 2027.

Service-public sums it up this way: in mainland France a landlord can raise the rent by at most 1.57% — where the lease is tied to the third quarter.

The increase is not automatic

The rules set several conditions:

• The lease must contain an annual review clause (clause de révision). No clause, no annual review.
• Once a year, on the date set in the lease; often the anniversary of signing.
• The index quarter is also set by the lease. If none is stated, the last index published on the date of signing applies. The new value is compared with the same quarter of the previous year — Q3 with Q3, not with a neighbouring quarter.
• The index for the right zone: mainland France, Corsica or the overseas departments.

How it is calculated

The formula from the service-public page:

new rent = current rent × new IRL ÷ IRL for the same quarter a year earlier, rounded to two decimals.

An illustration: rent of €800 in mainland France, lease tied to Q3. 800 × 148.06 ÷ 145.77 = €812.57. If a demand shows a different figure, the first thing to check is whether the right quarter and the right zone were used.

No backdating

This is the part people often miss. Under the rules set out by service-public:

• the review applies only from the date the landlord asks for it. If the review date is 13 March and the request comes on 13 June, the new amount applies from June only; March to May are not recalculated;
• the landlord has one year from the review date to ask. Miss that year and the increase for that year is lost.

When a review is not allowed

• Homes rated F or G on the energy performance certificate (DPE). In mainland France a review is banned if the lease was signed, renewed or tacitly extended after 24 August 2022; in the overseas departments, after 1 July 2024.
• Bail mobilité. While such a lease runs, the rent cannot be reviewed (article 25-16 of the 1989 law).

Social housing (HLM) follows different rules: a review every 1 January, using the Q2 index of the previous year. For homes under an Anah agreement the index is the same, and service-public recommends reviewing on 1 January.

What to do

1. Find the review clause, the review date and the index quarter in the lease.
2. Check the home's energy rating and the type of lease.
3. If a rent increase letter arrives, recalculate it with the formula, using the indices published by Insee or service-public.

Rent caps in certain cities (encadrement des loyers) are a separate subject with their own rules and are not covered here.

Sources: service-public.gouv.fr, news item of 15.10.2026 and fact sheet F13723 (Vérifié le 15.10.2026); Insee, Informations rapides no. 246 of 15.10.2026.