rental agreement
Signing a rental agreement digitally
Signing the lease is a priority to enable tenants to take advantage of their rental as soon as possible. It’s an essential stage for the landlord or estate agent in charge of the file as well. To facilitate this transaction, Connective provides the possibility to sign the rental agreement digitally.
Signing a rental agreement digitally: a legal and reliable procedure
Digital signing has made it possible to sign documents legally for more than twenty years. The law of 13 March 2000 established the same legal value for a digital signature as for a handwritten signature. And although this new technique took time to become habit, many professionals now use it every day.
This is real progress and really handy for landlords and tenants who are obliged, by the French ALUR property rental law, to provide very many documents and appendices to fill in the rental agreement application.
In this way, signing the rental agreement digitally streamlines the file, while facilitating contract completion in a completely legal way.
How the digital signing of rental agreements works
Today, more than ever, many procedures now take place online. And although visiting the accommodation with the future tenant seems essential, the administrative procedures that complete the rental contract do not necessarily require meeting in person. In this way, it’s possible to sign the rental agreement with an e-signature, by following different steps:
The owner, estate agent or landlord drafts the lease
The official document is sent via the Internet
The tenant receives an email and simply clicks the link provided
The information (address, names, lease date, rental terms, etc.) is checked
The tenant gives their consent by ticking a box at the end of the document
The signatory is authenticated by entering the code received by text message
They click “sign” to confirm
This procedure only takes a few minutes. Then, each party receives the signed digital document by email, but the lease can also be found in the personal account storage of the digital signature solution. After each deed has been signed, the signatories receive a digital signature certificate (DSC).
Can you sign the rental agreement appendices digitally?
Whether the rental agreement is digital or not, it requires many appendix documents that also need to be signed. Again, it’s completely possible to sign them digitally. This involves many documents.
The letter of guarantee
Digital signing has only been authorised for letters of guarantee since 1 January 2022. This has been possible since the obligation to fill in the letter by hand was removed. The guarantor can therefore sign the letter of guarantee quickly, which is an advantage when the guarantors are not on site. Until now, it was necessary to send the documents by post, which postponed the tenant’s moving-in date and made the process more complex.
The inventory
It’s often simpler to sign the inventory on site, if it’s done in the presence of the tenants when the keys are handed over. It’s even easier as the notes are taken in writing, quickly and straightforwardly.
It may however be of benefit to copy the inventory into a clean, digital version. This provides a clear and legible document that can be signed easily, and kept on a USB stick or on a computer. In this case too, it’s completely possible to sign the inventory digitally. It then has the same legal value as an inventory on paper.
Why sign a rental agreement digitally?
Digital signatures are very beneficial solutions for signing a rental agreement, for all the parties concerned.
The owner is also reassured, because most unpaid rental guarantee insurances can be signed digitally.
Saving time and money
By copying the handwritten inventory onto a computer, drafting, writing, sending and signing rental agreements digitally avoids toing and froing, postal costs and time-consuming meetings;
Making a gesture for the environment
Signing digitally avoids lots of printing on paper.
Being sure of a secure signature
Secure identification and information encryption, required by the eIDAS regulation, enable you to obtain a highly reliable signature.
Giving an innovative image of the real estate sector
New practices are always welcomed, above all when they make everyone’s lives easier.
Signing a digital rental agreement:
points for attention
A tenant may be tempted to trust a digital document more easily, or at least pay less attention. However, there are several items of information on the rental agreement that must be checked before signing digitally:
- The rent amount;
- The appendices, such as the inventory, the guarantee, the technical diagnosis, the insurance certificate or the commonhold regulations;
- The required clauses, such as the inhabitable surface area, the landlord’s identity or the security deposit amount. On the other hand, other provisions are forbidden on the lease, such as penalties for unpaid rent or late payment;
- The term of the lease: one year for furnished accommodation and at least three years for unfurnished accommodation
- The agent’s fees, which can only include compiling the file, drafting the lease, the visits and the inventory.
Connective’s digital signature solution is simpler and faster and makes your rental process easier with the digital signing of the rental agreement.
