Rents: the Q3 2026 IRL rises 1.57%, what landlords can apply
The reference rent index (IRL) for Q3 2026 stands at 148.06, up 1.57% year on year. It caps the rent increase landlords may apply, but the revision is never automatic and is impossible for some properties. Calculation, deadlines and blocking cases.
Gaston michelin
Agent immobilier
The Q3 2026 IRL is 148.06, up 1.57% year on year: the strongest increase of the last five quarters. Published by Insee on 15 October, it caps the rent increase that applies to leases whose revision clause refers to this quarter.
What Insee says
Q3 2026: 148.06 (+1.57%)
Q2 2026: 148.37 (+1.15%)
Q1 2026: 146.60 (+0.78%)
Q4 2025: 145.78 (+0.79%)
Q3 2025: 145.77 (+0.87%)
The index is published every quarter. It reflects the twelve-month change in the consumer price index, excluding tobacco and rents. From one quarter to the next its value can therefore fall: what matters for the revision is the comparison with the same quarter one year earlier. The next publication, for Q4, is scheduled for 15 January 2027.
Source: Insee, IRL Q3 2026, 15 October 2026.
How to calculate the revision
The new rent is the current rent, excluding charges, multiplied by the ratio between the new IRL and the IRL of the same quarter one year earlier.
New rent = current rent excluding charges × current IRL ÷ IRL of the same quarter one year earlier
The quarter to use is the one stated in the lease. If none is stated, it is the latest index published on the date the lease was signed.
Example for a lease whose reference quarter is Q3: a rent of €800 excluding charges becomes 800 × 148.06 ÷ 145.77, or about €812.57. The increase is €12.57 a month, about €151 a year.
The 1.57% figure is a ceiling, not an automatic increase: the landlord may apply less, or nothing at all.
Conditions and deadlines
A revision is only possible if the lease contains an indexation clause. Without one, the rent cannot be increased during the lease, whatever the index.
Four rules to know:
It is not automatic. The landlord must request it, by letter or email. Without a request, the rent stays the same.
It is not retroactive. If the landlord asks late, the increase only runs from the request, not from the lease anniversary.
It can only be requested once a year. The landlord has one year from the date set in the lease to claim it; after that, the revision for that year is lost.
The tenant does not have to calculate it. The landlord must work it out and state it clearly, which avoids disputes.
For a new lease or a renewal, the starting rent is set freely, subject to the rent-control rules of the area, described below.
Source: ANIL, rent revision.
When revision is forbidden or limited
Energy-inefficient homes (F and G). Since 24 August 2022, rents for homes rated F or G on the DPE are frozen: the landlord can neither apply the IRL nor raise the rent on re-letting or renewal. Revision remains possible for homes rated A to E. The property's DPE is therefore decisive before any request.
Tight-market areas. A decree of 20 July 2026 (no. 2026-644) renews, from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, the control of rent changes in tight-market areas on re-letting or renewal. The annual IRL revision during the lease is still allowed.
Rent control (Paris and other cities). In the areas that apply the experiment, the starting rent is capped by an increased reference rent. The experiment is due to end on 23 November 2026 unless a law is passed. The Senate's economic affairs committee adopted on 14 October an extension to November 2028 with an unchanged scope (nine territories), and the public session is announced for 21 October. The National Assembly had voted in December 2025 a version that makes the scheme permanent and extends it. The two texts differ: until a law is definitively adopted, the scheme's future remains uncertain.
Source: SeLoger, rent control and the Senate.
What landlords and tenants should do
Landlords
Re-read the lease: is there an indexation clause, and which reference quarter?
Check the property's DPE: at F or G, revision is blocked.
Calculate the increase and send the request in writing, with the calculation, without waiting for the one-year deadline.
For a re-letting or renewal in a tight or rent-controlled area, check the applicable cap before setting the rent.
Tenants
Check that the lease includes a revision clause and that the quarter cited is the right one.
Check the calculation: the announced percentage must not exceed the change in the IRL.
An increase without a clause, or on an F or G home, can be challenged.
Investors
Factor the DPE and the rent-control calendar into your yield assumptions: a 1.57% increase is modest compared with a discount linked to an F or G rating.
Key takeaways
The Q3 2026 IRL is 148.06 (+1.57% year on year): a ceiling on increases, not an obligation.
Revision requires a lease clause and a landlord request, and is not retroactive.
It is blocked for homes rated F or G.
The future of rent control in major cities depends on a vote still under way in Parliament.
Points of uncertainty. The legislative calendar on rent control may have changed since this article was written. Example amounts are indicative; for your situation, check your lease and your DPE. This article is not legal advice.
