Unpaid rent declines in major French cities, Digi Mart USA News (France): Unpaid rents are falling significantly in Île-de-France and large metropolitan areas, according to the Imodirect barometer for September 2026. Rates have returned to around 3 percent, their lowest level since 2022-2023.
In the provinces, the decline is starting more slowly.
Rent arrears in properties tracked by Imodirect are decreasing. After a sharp rise between 2020 and 2023, followed by two years at a high level, the latest barometer from the local rental management agency shows an improvement.
The trend is particularly marked in Île-de-France and in large regional metropolises, where arrears of more than one month have returned to levels not seen since 2022 or 2023.
In September 2026, the arrears rate reached 3.01 percent in Paris and Île-de-France, compared with 3.65 percent in spring and 3.50 percent in October 2025. This brings it back to its level at the beginning of 2023.
The decline is even more pronounced in the ten main regional metropolises tracked by Imodirect. The rate fell from 3.89 percent in March 2026 to 3.03 percent in September, compared with 3.53 percent in October 2025.
This is its lowest level since autumn 2022.
Source: Imodirect barometer. The arrears rate is measured at the thirty-day reminder stage.
“This is genuinely good news, and it deserves to be welcomed: in major cities, arrears are falling sharply and returning to their 2022-2023 levels. Payment delays have not disappeared, but they are being settled more quickly, before becoming true arrears,” said Arnaud Hacquart, president of Imodirect.
The improvement also appears at the beginning of the month. In Île-de-France, 21 percent of tracked tenants are late by one day after the due date, compared with 24 percent a year earlier.
In major regional metropolises, the proportion fell from 28 percent to 25 percent. In both cases, the decline reaches three points.
At five days late, figures also improved: the proportion fell from 16.9 percent to 14.9 percent in Île-de-France and from 15.8 percent to 15 percent in regional metropolises.
Delays at ten days follow a different trajectory. They affect 11.5 percent of tenants in Île-de-France, compared with 11 percent a year earlier, and remain stable at 13.2 percent in the metropolises.
Indicators therefore move differently depending on the length of the delay: early payment gaps are decreasing, as are thirty-day arrears, while ten-day delays are not declining.
The thirty-day threshold is used here for Imodirect’s statistical tracking. For tenants receiving housing assistance, procedures with the Caf or MSA follow specific rules, with recognition thresholds for arrears changing from 2027.
In the “provinces” category of the Imodirect barometer, the decline is more modest. The rate of arrears of more than one month stood at 3.89 percent in September 2026, compared with 4.19 percent in May and 4.01 percent in October 2025.
It has fallen below 4 percent for the first time since the beginning of 2024.
Comparison with March 2020 nonetheless shows the distance still to be covered: the rate was then 1.25 percent, more than three times lower than in September 2026. Five days after the due date, 19.7 percent of tenants are still subject to a reminder, a proportion unchanged over one year, compared with 6.1 percent in March 2020.
The gap with Île-de-France is widening. It now reaches 0.88 points for thirty-day arrears, compared with about half a point in October 2025.
Differences are also significant within the same region: Imodirect records a rate of 5.88 percent in Seine-Saint-Denis, compared with 2.02 percent in Hauts-de-Seine.
For landlords and professionals, these figures show the value of examining risk at the local level. Imodirect believes territorial disparities could, over time, influence the pricing of unpaid rent insurance.
For both landlords and tenants, contacting each other quickly makes it possible to understand why a payment is missing and to seek a solution. The ANIL recommends an amicable approach when the tenant is in good faith, with, if necessary, a written agreement to spread repayment of the debt.
“We must nonetheless remain clear-eyed. In the provinces, one tenant in five is still late in the first days, and the return of inflation, driven by rising energy prices, is again weighing on household budgets.
This improvement must be consolidated. For landlords, rigorous tenant selection and daily monitoring remain the best safeguards,” added Arnaud Hacquart.
Preparing a rental also involves reviewing guarantees suited to the file. Landlords and applicants may in particular consult the new conditions of the Visale guarantee in 2026.
Finally, the arrival of winter does not suspend payment monitoring. The rules of the winter truce concerning rents and procedures remain to be understood: the general suspension of evictions does not exempt the tenant from paying rent.
