Housing for services ? What do we mean by that ?
« Housing for services » is an alternative type of rental offer guaranteeing an owner or a tenant ( with the argreement of his owner), in order to make available all or part of his accommodation free of charge ( or in order of a moderate rent) in return for providing small services.
These services can ne Home sitting, Home Help, Baby Sitting, DIY such as small house work, Animal care or Pet Sitting such as dog walker, (Day Care, Night Care, Child Care, Elder Care, Handicapped Care, Property Guarding, Gardening, Cleaning and Shopping, School Outings, School Support.
In pratical terms
Housing contracts for services
On the one hand, owners who use rental for services can :
Write an au pair employee contract if the value of the rent is equivalent to the value of the services rendered. It is an employment contract where the salary is free housing. We offer an au pair contract template to all our Premium members. The status of au pair employee / employer requires special frames of mind, find all the necessary information on service-public.fr.
Write a rental contract of the “furnished offer” type when the services provided have a value less than or equal to the amount of rent that would be required in the context of a traditional rental.
To know :
In oder to avoid any disputes, a written agreement is essential to clearly define the conditions of the rental against services.
It is also necessary to think about making representations to the competent organisms, such as URSSAF.
Housing for services : what the written agreement must contain
On the other hand, in the context of accommodation against services, we recommend that you set the agreement in writing.
It is important to stipulate the tasks to be performed as well as the number of hours of work. In this context, the working time is between 10 and 15 hours per week..
➜ Name and contact details of each party
➜ The start and end of the exchange of services for housing
➜ The nature of the services required by the owners
➜ The schedule and the number of hours to be complete by the tenant
➜ The space designation made available to the tenant
➜ The rules for sharing common areas and the rules of life
➜ The distributions of rental charges.
We present you several types of contracts : colocation contract, au pair employee contract, inventory of fixtures contract, etc. which you can download for free here.
Stay vigilant
You must remain vigilant as to the nature of the service requested.
We recommend that you, before any engagement, physically meet your future landlord in order to know with whom and how you are engaging.
Conditions to be acknowledged in order to take or offer Accommodation for services
A decent housing - Commitment the owner must take account of
Even though the tenant enjoys free accommodation in exchange for the performance of his services, the landlord has a commitment to rent a decent housing :
- Do not reveal any obvious risks that could endanger physical safety or health ;
- Exempt from any infestation of harmful and parasitic species
- Responding to a minimum energy performance criterion. For that the housing must be equipped with the elements making it suitable for residential us
- Respect the standards of decency as defined by the implementing decree of 2002 which entails the main technical characteristics that the tenant is entitled to expect, such as …
- A vacant room or studio with a minimum area of 9 m² and a ceiling height of at least 2.20 m. All of this achieving a living space of at least 20 m³
- Minimum comfort adapted to the home (window, heating, electricity, etc.)
- In terms of safety and sanitation devices: Notion of “closed” and “covered” meaning that the accommodation must be in a good state of maintenance and solidity, protected against runoff and upwelling, exterior and interior joinery must be watertight and protect against infiltration, etc
Dare trade.
Live the share.
Totaling of the amount of services and rental
Housing contracts for services
Housing for services is characterized by free rental of housing compensated by the tenant’s obligation to provide services.
- The price of the rent that would have been charged for a classique rental. To know the cost of your rental property, you must make a free estimation.
- The number of hours of work to which this price corresponds. Knowing that if you exceed 15 hours per week you will have to instore a work contract.
Good to know
In order to calculate the value of these working hours, the hourly minimum wage should be applied corresponding to the minimum hourly wage below which no employee can be paid.
Amount of the minimum wage on January 1st, 2021 in France:
- The gross hourly minimum wage is € 10.15
- The gross monthly minimum wage (35 hours / week) is € 1,539.42
Reductions may be applicable in certain cases :
(apprentices and employees under 18)
Do not exceed the number of hours indicated in the contract. Such overtime worked that is not declared will be considered moonlighting. Therefore it is best to do a employment contract.