My rental files: one file per country

Your rental files gather, once and for all, the information and documents a landlord asks for before renting you a home. You prepare it at your own pace, then apply in one click to listings, choosing each time what you share. Open the I am a tenant menu (top bar or the console's general menu, which gathers your leases, your email alerts and your file), then My rental files (sign-in required, see Create your account).

The page is organised in tabs: one tab per file, and an Add a file tab on the right. A pop-up asks for the country of the rental (and, if you wish, a name). You can have up to 5 files (for example one in France and one in Cameroon, or several in the same country). On your first visit the window opens by itself to create your first file.

• What depends on the country: the guarantor types offered, the document list and its labels, the default currency of your income and budget, and the legal framework reminder.
• France: Visale guarantee, professional guarantors (GarantMe, Unkle, Cautioneo, SmartGarant, CLÉ), the legal document list (decree no. 2015-1437) and the reminder of prohibited documents.
• Other countries: individual guarantor or company/organisation, a short document list (ID, address, activity, income) with neutral labels. Visale and professional guarantors are not offered there.
• A new file takes your situation, occupation, employer and household size from your first file; amounts, guarantor and documents are specific to each file. Your identity, ID document and tax notices always come from your profile.
• Edit the file lets you rename it or change its country: the guarantor and documents specific to the old country (for example Visale) are then removed, and the change is impossible while an application is in progress with that file.
• Applications: each application uses one file, which must match the listing's country. On the Apply page, choose the file; the one for the listing's country is preselected.
• Deletion: My data and rights lets you delete the displayed file (with its documents and applications) or, if there are several, all your files.

The rental reliability score is shared by all your files.

Fill in: first and last name, phone, current address, employment situation (employee, self-employed, student, retired, job seeker, other), occupation or studies, employer, net monthly income and its currency, number of people in the household, desired move-in date, maximum budget and, if you wish, a short introduction.

This section is separate from the profile. Choose the type of guarantor (Visale and professional guarantors are only offered for a file in France):

• Individual (a relative, a friend…): name, relationship, net monthly income, phone and email. Their ID, proof of address and proof of income are expected;
• Legal entity – Visale (Action Logement's free guarantee): visa number, name of the holder, issue date (optional) and validity date. The certified visa is expected among your documents;
• Legal entity – professional guarantor (GarantMe, Unkle, Cautioneo, SmartGarant, CLÉ scheme for students): pick the provider, then enter the contract or certificate number, the holder and the dates, as for Visale. The guarantee deed or certificate is expected among your documents;
• Legal entity – other company or organisation (bank guarantee, unpaid-rent insurance, employer, surety company…): company name, type of organisation, contract or file reference, contact phone and email. The guarantee deed or certificate is expected among your documents;
• No guarantor.

The requested documents adapt automatically to your choice. The guarantor is saved with its own button: saving the profile does not change it.

When you enter a Visale visa or a professional guarantor (GarantMe, Unkle…), Smartlife runs automatic consistency checks, shown under the form:

• visa number: 6 to 20 letters or digits (spaces and hyphens ignored);
• holder's name: it must match the identity in your profile (accents, case and word order ignored);
• dates: issue date not in the future and before the end of validity;
• validity: the visa is not expired. An “Expires soon” reminder appears in the 15 days before the end date.

The result is Consistent, Expires soon, Expired, Inconsistent or Incomplete.

For each document, upload a PDF, JPEG or PNG file of 5 MB at most (up to 6 files per type, 24 in total). The list depends on your situation:

• Always: valid ID, proof of address;
• Employee: proof of employment (contract or employer certificate), latest payslips;
• Self-employed: company registration extract or equivalent, proof of income;
• Student: student card (a guarantor is strongly advised);
• Retired, other: proof of income (pension, benefits, grant…);
• Recommended: latest tax notice.

No double entry: the ID and tax notices uploaded in Profile › Civil status are picked up automatically in this list (labelled “in your profile”) and count as provided. Add, replace or delete them from the profile, not here.
A progress bar shows how complete the file is. A document can be viewed, replaced or deleted at any time; deleting it also removes it from all your applications.

Some documents must be recent. A banner and badges flag those to renew:

• proof of address and payslips (yours and your guarantor's): valid for 3 months from upload;
• tax notice from the profile: to renew when its year is earlier than last year;
• “Expires soon” appears in the 15 days before the deadline, “To renew” afterwards.

The indicator is informative: the upload date is used as a benchmark because the document's issue date is unknown. It does not prevent you from applying. The landlord sees the same badge on the documents you share.

The law (ALUR act and decree no. 2015-1437) strictly limits what a landlord may require. Smartlife therefore never offers: bank statements, health insurance card, photo (other than the ID), certificate of good account standing or of no outstanding credit, direct-debit authorisation, medical records, criminal record extract, divorce judgment, certificate of no enforcement proceedings. If a landlord asks for them, you may refuse. The list follows the French framework; in other countries only the documents useful to assess the application remain requested.

When your income is filled in, the application page shows your effort rate for the listing: (rent + charges) ÷ net monthly income. It is a simple benchmark, for you and for the landlord; it does not decide the outcome of the application.

When a landlord views a document you shared, it is displayed with their company name as a watermark (repeated diagonal pattern) and the viewing date. They never receive the original: a copy or screenshot therefore carries the name of whoever obtained it. For this reason, a protected PDF, one over 30 pages or in a format that is too recent may be refused at upload: save it again as a standard PDF or send photos (JPEG, PNG). You always see your own documents without a watermark.