SHORT ANSWER
Finding a long-term pet-friendly rental in France is easier than many Americans expect, because French law protects a tenant's right to keep pets in a home they use as their primary residence. That applies to both furnished and unfurnished rentals. The real difficulty is practical. Apartments in dense cities can be a poor fit for some animals, competition for good listings is strong, and the tourist or seasonal furnished accommodation many newcomers use while they search is legally allowed to ban pets entirely. The main exception in long-term leases is a Category 1 "attack" dog, which a landlord can prohibit in the lease and which cannot be imported into France at all.
When advising international families relocating to France, one of the first concerns I often hear from pet owners is whether having an animal will make securing a home significantly more difficult. The good news is that the lease itself is rarely the obstacle. When a tenant rents a home as their main residence, French law sides with them on pets.
The French government's official information site explains that a tenant using a rental as their primary residence, whether it is rented empty or furnished, may keep one or more companion animals, provided they respect the tranquility of the neighborhood (Service-Public.fr, verified March 6, 2026). The legal basis is Article 10 of Law No. 70-598 of July 9, 1970 on landlord and tenant relations.
That protection comes with responsibility. The same page states that the tenant is liable for damage and for abnormal neighborhood disturbances caused by their animals. In practical terms, a dog that barks all day while you're at work, or scratches through a parquet floor, is your problem to fix.
There is a single exception for long-term housing. A landlord or rental agency may write into the lease that keeping a Category 1 dangerous dog, known in France as a chien d'attaque, is prohibited (Service-Public.fr).
For Americans, this matters less at the rental stage than at the border. France classifies certain dogs into two categories (Service-Public.fr, verified November 7, 2025):
Importing or bringing a Category 1 dog into metropolitan France is an offense punishable by six months in prison and a €15,000 fine. Category 2 dogs can live in France, but their owners face obligations such as a detention permit and a behavioral evaluation. In apartment buildings, categorized dogs must be leashed and muzzled in shared areas, and Category 1 dogs may not linger in a building's common areas at all.
Service-Public also notes that only a veterinarian can determine a dog's breed type, and it recommends carrying a veterinary certificate if there is any doubt. If your dog is a muscular mix, get that letter before you start apartment hunting.
Here is the part that catches people off guard. The tenant protections above apply to a primary residence. They do not apply to a meublé de tourisme, the tourist or seasonal furnished accommodation you might book for a few weeks while you look for a permanent home. For those rentals, the owner can state in the contract that any animal is prohibited (Service-Public.fr).
This is why I always talk to families about temporary accommodation early in the process. Most people need somewhere to stay before the permanent home is available, and that bridge period is exactly when your legal protections are weakest. If the only tourist or seasonal furnished flat near your new office says no pets, you have no recourse.
As Adam Melton, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Starwood Pet Travel, puts it: "Most families moving to France assume the lease will be the hard part. In practice, the law is on the tenant's side once you sign for your primary residence. The pinch point is the gap between landing and moving in, when you're in a tourist or seasonal rental and the owner can say no to your pet. Lock that bridge housing down before you book the flight."
Even with the law on your side, it can be harder to find the right apartment for a pet than the right house. The legal question is only half the story. A home that works beautifully for you may not work at all for your animal.
When I build a search for a family with pets, I look at:
If we understand those needs early, we can build them into the search instead of solving problems afterwards.
American applicants often worry that a landlord will reject them for lacking a French credit history or ask for unusual paperwork. France limits this. There is an official list of documents a landlord or agency may request from a prospective tenant and their guarantor, and the landlord is prohibited from demanding anything else (Service-Public.fr). The list includes foreign identity documents and passports.
The government also runs DossierFacile, an online service where tenants upload their authorized documents and send the landlord a single link (Service-Public.fr). For international applicants, foreign documents may need to be translated into French, with financial amounts presented in euros. Depending on the document and the purpose for which it is being used, a certified translation may also be required. A complete, well-organized file helps you stand out in a competitive market, especially when you're applying from abroad.
French law caps the security deposit (dépôt de garantie) on a primary residence. For an unfurnished home, it cannot exceed one month's rent excluding charges. For a furnished home, it cannot exceed two months' rent excluding charges (Service-Public.fr, verified June 9, 2026). Those caps apply whether or not you have a pet, so a separate "pet deposit" on top of the legal maximum is not something you should accept.
Your housing timeline and your pet's travel timeline need to line up. Pets moving from the United States need an ISO-compliant microchip, a rabies vaccination, and an endorsed EU health certificate, and each step has its own timing rules. Starwood Pet Travel lays out the full process in its complete timeline for moving a dog or cat from the US to France. Adam and I also talked through housing and settling in on the Pet Travel Insider podcast.