# No Income



## Macroom

I will be moving to France in the new year and initially I will be renting. For two years I will be living off savings so no wages or pension. I noticed you need proof of income (wages or pension) to rent. Is there a way around this?


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## Crabtree

The first question is -have you got your visa sorted or are you an EU citizen? 
Secondly would you as a landlord rent to somebody with no visible means of supporting themselves?
And are "your savings" enough to pay your bills, utllities local taxes health care contributions etc?


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## Bevdeforges

One big reason to require income is that you are legally limited to about 30% of your income for rent. What some folks have done is to arrange for regular transfers from their savings accounts to their French checking/current accounts to show a regular receipt of funds over several months. Only problem with this approach is that it's difficult enough to open a French bank account when you're newly arrived. Much more so before you arrive.

But Crabtree has an excellent point. If you need a visa to live in France, you'll have to show "adequate income" in order to obtain a long-stay visa, depending on the reason you give for moving to France. If those two years of living on your savings are the two years prior to your being able to start drawing your pension, you may want to get a pension estimate and tailor your regular transfers from savings to be roughly in the amount of your estimated pension.


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## philthompson23

Bevdeforges said:


> One big reason to require income is that you are legally limited to about 30% of your income for rent. What some folks have done is to arrange for regular transfers from their savings accounts to their French checking/current accounts to show a regular receipt of funds over several months. Only problem with this approach is that it's difficult enough to open a French bank account when you're newly arrived. Much more so before you arrive.
> 
> But Crabtree has an excellent point. If you need a visa to live in France, you'll have to show "adequate income" in order to obtain a long-stay visa, depending on the reason you give for moving to France. If those two years of living on your savings are the two years prior to your being able to start drawing your pension, you may want to get a pension estimate and tailor your regular transfers from savings to be roughly in the amount of your estimated pension.


Can’t you easily setup a bank account using Britline ?


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## Bevdeforges

philthompson23 said:


> Can’t you easily setup a bank account using Britline ?


We've had varying reports on that. There is also the matter of whether you are setting up a resident or a non-resident account. Everything seems to have become more "complicated" since Brexit.


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## Befuddled

Brexit. The gift that keeps on giving.


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## Macroom

Crabtree said:


> The first question is -have you got your visa sorted or are you an EU citizen?
> Secondly would you as a landlord rent to somebody with no visible means of supporting themselves?
> And are "your savings" enough to pay your bills, utllities local taxes health care contributions etc?


EU national can pay 12 months rent in advance full private health insurance etc


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## Bevdeforges

Macroom said:


> EU national can pay 12 months rent in advance full private health insurance etc


They can? I thought those arrangements to stick a full year's rent in an escrow account were not entirely legal here, but kind of "tolerated" if you can talk the landlord into it. But if you're an EU national you can always sign up for the French healthcare system after 3 months of residence - though the "cost" for that is a function of your income, so I'm not sure how that would be calculated if you're living off savings.


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## Macroom

I have sufficient funds to pay a max of 1000 Euro month in rent for 2 years. Health insurance, local tax, home insurance etc for 2 years. I will have a monthly 'income' above the French minimum monthly wage (separate to the money for rent). I will also have seperate funds set a side to buy a house which i will do In 2 years at age 60 (when i decided if I am staying). Then I will have a monthly occupational pension greater than the minimum wage.


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## Clic Clac

If you are 58 then you could look at buying a short term annuity which will give you a guaranteed 'income' each month until your pension kicks in.


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