You sign a lease and the agency hands you an invoice for fees. Who pays what between the landlord and tenant? The answer depends on the type of service: rental placement or ongoing property management. Two distinct categories, two different rules for cost sharing, and legal caps that most landlords are not well aware of.
Ongoing property management fees: a charge reserved for the landlord
When a landlord entrusts their property to an agency via a management mandate, they delegate the collection of rents, monitoring of repairs, management of claims, and follow-ups on unpaid rents. These services are billed as fees, usually calculated as a percentage of the collected rent.
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Ongoing property management is entirely the responsibility of the landlord. The tenant does not have to pay for these services. This rule has no exceptions.
These management fees cannot be included in recoverable charges. A landlord who attempts to pass them on to the tenant, even partially, through a charge adjustment line would be in violation.
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If you are a tenant and you spot a “management fees” line on your charge statement, you have the right to contest it. To better understand the cost of property management and its distribution, it is essential to clearly distinguish this item from rental placement fees.
Rental placement fees: what the tenant can pay (and their caps)
Rental placement encompasses one-time services related to moving into the property. Unlike ongoing management, some rental placement fees can be shared between the landlord and tenant.
Three items can be charged to the tenant:
- The property visit fees, related to organizing appointments and presenting the property
- The file preparation fees, corresponding to the verification of the candidate’s supporting documents
- The lease drafting fees, covering the preparation and signing of the rental contract
The amount charged to the tenant for these three services can never exceed half of what the agency charges in total. It is also capped by a maximum amount per square meter of living space, which varies depending on the geographical area.
2026 caps indexed to the IRL
A decree published at the end of 2025 updated these caps for leases signed from January 2026, with an annual indexation based on the Rent Reference Index. The applicable values are 12.10 euros per square meter in very tight areas, 10.09 euros in tight areas, and 8.07 euros in non-tight areas.
For the entry inventory, a separate cap applies: 3.03 euros per square meter. Again, the tenant cannot pay more than half of the total fees charged by the agency for this service.
Many online articles still mention the old thresholds of 12, 10, and 8 euros. Make sure your agency applies the indexed 2026 caps correctly.
Property management mandate: what the contract must specify
The management mandate is the document that binds the landlord to the agency or representative. It is in this contract that the fees, their calculation method, and the exact list of included services are specified.
Why does this document deserve careful reading? Because property management fees are free. The agency sets its rates as it sees fit. No legal cap applies, unlike the rental placement fees charged to the tenant.
In practice, most agencies charge a percentage of the monthly rent (including or excluding charges depending on the contract). Some online representatives offer fixed packages. In both cases, the mandate must list each service and its total price including tax.
The agency is also required to display its maximum rates visibly:
- At the entrance of its premises and on its external window
- On its online listings and advertising displays outside the agency
- At trade shows or fairs it participates in
Each displayed service must specify who pays for it (landlord, tenant, or shared). If the display is lacking or unclear, it is a warning sign.
Deducting management fees from rental income
The landlord bears the property management costs, but they do not necessarily absorb this cost without tax compensation. Do you declare your rental income under the actual regime? Management fees are deductible from your taxable rental income.
This applies to both ongoing fees (collection, technical monitoring, follow-ups) and one-time rental placement costs that remain the landlord’s responsibility. The deduction is made in the year in which the fees were paid.
Under the micro-property regime, this line-by-line deduction is not possible: the flat-rate allowance is supposed to cover all charges. The choice between the two regimes depends on the total amount of your deductible charges compared to your rents. The higher your management fees, the more advantageous the actual regime becomes.
Online property management or traditional agency: impact on the landlord’s invoice
Online property management platforms generally charge lower rates than physical agencies. Their model relies on automated tools (billing, tax declarations, payment tracking), which reduces the unit cost per managed lot.
A traditional agency justifies higher fees by providing close support: technical visits, direct relationship with the tenant, on-site management of repairs. The choice depends on the type of property, the distance between the landlord and the rental unit, and the desired level of delegation.
Comparing mandates based solely on price would be misleading. Two contracts displaying the same percentage may cover very different services. One may include rent guarantee insurance, while the other charges it separately. One may cover claims, while the other limits itself to rent collection.
The real comparison criterion remains the ratio between the scope of covered services and the total amount charged over a full year, relative to the rents received. This calculation allows measuring the actual impact on the profitability of a rental investment.