Conciliation Commission: Faxing a Rent Dispute

Short answer: the departmental conciliation commission (commission départementale de conciliation, CDC) is a free body set up in every French department within the State services (most often the DDETS, sometimes the DDT(M) or the prefecture itself), which attempts to settle landlord–tenant disputes amicably: rent level at renewal, service charges, inventory of fixtures, security deposit not returned, repairs, housing decency. You apply to it with a signed referral letter accompanied by supporting documents: lease, inventory of fixtures, statement of charges, rent receipts, correspondence exchanged. Many secretariats still accept transmission by fax when a deadline is tight — typically the two months to challenge a proposed new rent, or the mandatory prior referral before going to court in certain rent disputes. But the fax only serves to secure the date: send the same file by registered letter the same day, and keep the transmission report, as it is the document that certifies the time of transmission.

What the conciliation commission is — and is not

The CDC is provided for by Article 20 of Act no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 and by Decree no. 2001-653. It is composed on an equal footing of landlords' representatives and tenants' representatives (organisations sitting on the Commission nationale de concertation). It sits in the department's administrative capital, its secretariat is run by a State service, and referral is free: no tax stamp, no lawyer, no fees.

What it does:

• it summons both parties to a hearing (generally within two months of a complete referral);
• it attempts to bring the positions closer together and issues either a conciliation document signed by the parties or an opinion when no agreement is reached;
• that opinion, non-binding, is forwarded to the judge if the dispute continues — and a judge always reads carefully to see who made an effort and who failed to turn up.

What it does not do:

• it does not convict anyone and issues no enforceable order;
• it does not handle unpaid rent as such (that falls to the juge des contentieux de la protection, after a formal demand);
• it does not intervene in commercial or professional leases, nor in tourist furnished lettings.

Its exact scope is broad but closed. The useful reflex: check that your dispute is on the list before incurring postage costs, otherwise the referral will be closed without further action.

The deadlines that govern everything

The two dates to remember do not concern the commission itself, but what surrounds it.

Lease renewal. A landlord wishing to raise an under-valued rent must notify you of the proposal at least six months before the end of the lease. From that notification, the disagreement must be brought before the CDC no later than four months before the end of the lease. If nobody refers the matter to the commission within that period, the lease is renewed at the previous rent. This is the deadline most often missed: it is counted in months but it falls without any reminder.

The security deposit. The landlord had one month after the keys were handed back to return it if the exit inventory matches the entry inventory, two months where there are differences. After that date, it is increased by 10% of the monthly rent excluding charges for each month of delay started. The CDC is the ideal intermediate step before going to court, but nothing stops you from referring the matter as soon as the second month has elapsed.

The rent supplement. In a rent-control area, the tenant has three months from signature of the lease to challenge a rent supplement, and referral to the commission is mandatory.

In all three cases, what counts is not the hearing date but the date on which the secretariat receives your referral. Hence the value of a fax when only a few hours remain: it time-stamps arrival page by page, whereas a letter posted on a Friday evening will not arrive until Tuesday.

Finding the secretariat's correct fax number

This is the step where most referrals end up in the wrong place. There is no national number: each department has its own secretariat, attached to services whose name has changed several times (DDCS, DDCSPP, then DDETS since 2021, DDT(M) in some departments, or even the prefecture or the DRIHL in the Île-de-France region).

The only sources to use:

• your department's prefecture website (….gouv.fr), housing section, which usually carries a downloadable referral form with the postal address and fax number;
• the landlord's notification itself: when the proposal for a new rent is properly drafted, it states the competent commission;
• the directory of official numbers that we maintain, available via our directory of administrative fax numbers.

Before sending, apply the method described in our guide to finding and verifying a government department's fax number: two matching official sources, a ten-digit format without international dialling code, no extension. A CDC secretariat fax number lingering on a forum stands a very good chance of having been scrapped along with the analogue line that carried it.

One practical detail: many secretariats now favour email or an online service. When the official website lists an email address and a fax, send via both channels. It costs nothing, and the redundancy protects you.

The referral file, document by document

An incomplete referral is not rejected: it sits dormant while the secretariat asks you for the missing documents — and meanwhile the four-month deadline keeps running. So prepare everything in one go.

The referral letter

One page, not two. It must contain:

1. your full contact details (name, address, telephone, email) and those of the other party — without the landlord's address, the commission cannot issue a summons;
2. the exact address of the dwelling concerned;
3. the subject of the dispute in one sentence: "challenge to the new rent proposed on 12 March 2026", "security deposit of €850 not returned";
4. what you are asking for, with figures;
5. the date and your handwritten signature — an unsigned referral is inadmissible, even when sent by fax.

If your department publishes a standard form, use it: the secretariat processes it faster.

The enclosures

• the lease (every page, including annexes and the energy performance certificate);
• the entry and exit inventories of fixtures;
• the landlord's notification with its date of receipt;
• the rent receipts or payment statements for the last twelve months;
• the statement of charges being challenged and the supporting documents received;
• the correspondence exchanged, in particular the formal demand and its acknowledgement of receipt;
• photographs and quotations in the event of a dispute over works or damage.

With photographs, this is where fax shows its limits: a compressed greyscale image does not prove a damp patch. Scan them properly — a compact flatbed scanner gives a far more legible result than a smartphone photo taken at an angle — and keep them for the registered letter and the hearing. If you must fax them anyway, increase the contrast and caption each shot ("bathroom, north wall, 14/09/2026").

The six mandatory items on the cover sheet and how to number the pages are set out in our fax cover sheet template. For a referral, always add "CDC referral — [address of the dwelling] — page X/Y" at the foot of every sheet: files are handled on paper and pages come apart.

Sending, proving, following up

Before sending

A referral file quickly runs to 25 to 40 pages. A few precautions avoid unpleasant surprises:

• assemble everything into a single PDF, in the order announced in the letter. Our PDF file assembly tool does this without installing any software;
• check legibility in black and white: a yellow highlighter turns into a grey veil, a signature in light blue ink disappears. Sign with a broad-tipped black pen, or use a black indelible ink rollerball pen whose line survives scanning;
• do not exceed 50 pages per transmission: beyond that, split it into two numbered faxes ("transmission 1/2", "transmission 2/2") and state this on each cover sheet.

Sending

From a computer or a phone, an online fax service is enough: you upload the PDF, enter the secretariat's French number, and receive a transmission report. Our fax sending form accepts ten-digit French numbers. If you prefer to go through your own provider, the real state of each offer is set out in our comparison of faxing with your Free, Orange, SFR or Bouygues box.

Avoid the late-afternoon rush: a departmental secretariat often has only one fax line, saturated between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. A transmission launched in the late morning stands a better chance of getting through first time.

The proof

Three items to keep together, in the same file:

• the transmission report stating the number called, the date, the time, the number of pages and the "OK" status;
• the exact PDF that was sent — not a version reworked afterwards;
• the acknowledgement of receipt of the duplicate registered letter.

For rental disputes, aim to keep everything for five years after the end of the lease: that is the limitation period for actions relating to residential leases (Article 7-1 of the 1989 Act, three years for rent review actions; five years for payment actions). A simple labelled suspension file per dwelling, or an expanding archive wallet, is enough to maintain a usable chronology. Our detailed recommendations appear in archiving your fax transmission reports.

Following up

Allow one to two weeks for an acknowledgement of receipt from the secretariat, then a summons within one to two months. If nothing arrives after three weeks, follow up by telephone quoting the date and time of your fax — the transmission report lets you do so precisely, which changes everything in the conversation.

At the hearing, you may be assisted or represented by a proxy (an approved tenants' association, a landlords' organisation, a relative holding written authority). Come with a complete paper set of the file, stapled and paginated: the commission works from the table. An up-to-date practical guide to landlord and tenant relations — of the kind published each year by consumer associations — helps you frame claims with figures rather than grievances, which is exactly what the commission is equipped to handle.

Frequently asked questions

Does the conciliation commission really accept a referral by fax?

Nothing in the 1989 Act requires a registered letter to refer a matter to the CDC: the text speaks of referral, not of form. In practice, secretariats register whatever reaches them in an identifiable, signed form, fax included. But some departments explicitly state "referral by post or email only". The cautious rule never changes: fax for the date, registered letter for the file.

Do you have to write to the landlord before referring the matter to the commission?

It is not a condition of admissibility, but it is decisive on the substance. A prior formal demand, sent by registered letter or by fax with a transmission report, shows that you sought agreement. Without it, the commission faces an unformalised disagreement and loses a whole hearing reconstructing it.

What is the opinion worth if the other party does not attend?

The opinion binds no one, but absence is noted. Before the juge des contentieux de la protection, an opinion recording that the summoned party failed to appear, while you had produced a complete file, genuinely weighs in the assessment of good faith.

Does referral interrupt the limitation periods?

Referral to a conciliation commission suspends the limitation period for the duration of the procedure, in line with the rules on contractual mediation and conciliation (Article 2238 of the Civil Code). But do not build your strategy on this point: refer early, it is safer than relying on a suspension.

What if my department has no fax number for the CDC?

This is increasingly common. In that case, use the secretariat's official email address and back it up with a registered letter. Do not invent a number found elsewhere: a fax sent to a reassigned line is both a lost referral and a disclosure of personal data to an unknown third party.

Can you refer a furnished dwelling to the commission?

Yes, provided it is a main residence falling under Title I bis of the 1989 Act. Tourist furnished lettings and seasonal rentals, by contrast, fall outside the scope.

In summary

• The departmental conciliation commission is free, jointly composed, local to your department, and competent on renewal rent, service charges, inventories of fixtures, works, decency and the security deposit.
• Two deadlines govern everything: four months before the end of the lease for a disagreement over the new rent, one to two months after the keys are handed back for the security deposit.
• The fax number must be checked on the department's prefecture website or in an official directory — never on a forum.
• The referral must be signed, quantified, and accompanied by the lease, the inventories of fixtures, the disputed statement of charges and the correspondence exchanged.
• The fax serves to secure the date; the registered letter carries the file. Keep the transmission report, the PDF sent and the acknowledgement of receipt together.
• Photographs and colour documents transmit poorly by fax: keep them for the paper mailing and the hearing.