A Riviera Arrival service

Getting the keys is the exciting part. The genuinely boring part — the phone calls, the account numbers, the appointment windows — is what actually decides whether you have hot water and Wi-Fi in week one or week four. This is the checklist I wish someone had handed me on day one.

Electricity and gas

EDF is the historic national supplier and still the default many people choose, but the market has been open for years now, and alternatives like Engie and TotalEnergies compete on price and contract terms — it's worth comparing rather than defaulting automatically. You'll need the meter's PDL/PCE number (usually on a previous bill or from your landlord) to open a contract, and it's worth doing this before move-in day, since activation can take a few days even when everything goes smoothly.

Internet — getting your box installed

Orange, Free, SFR and Bouygues all offer fibre where it's available, and coverage on the coast is generally good in built-up areas, patchier in the hills. The "box" (router) is usually mailed to you or installed by a technician, and if it's a technician visit, book it the moment you sign your lease — appointment slots can run one to two weeks out, and nobody enjoys a Riviera view with no Wi-Fi to show anyone.

Most contracts run for twelve months minimum with an early-exit fee, so it's worth checking coverage at your exact address — not just the neighborhood — before committing to a provider, since switching later is more hassle than getting it right the first time. In the meantime, a local prepaid SIM with a generous data plan is a perfectly good stopgap.

Home insurance (assurance habitation)

This one isn't optional if you're renting — French landlords legally require proof of home insurance (an attestation) before or at signing, and most won't hand over keys without it. It covers you for things like water damage and fire, both to your own belongings and potentially to neighbors, and it's genuinely inexpensive relative to the peace of mind. Get the attestation document as soon as the policy is active; it's usually the very first thing your landlord or agency asks for.

Water, waste, and what's already included

Water is sometimes billed separately and sometimes folded into your building's shared charges, depending on the property — check your lease rather than assume. Household waste collection is run by the local municipality and typically covered through local taxes rather than a separate bill you set up yourself, though recycling sorting rules vary by building and are worth asking your landlord or a neighbor about early, before you accidentally become the person who bags things wrong for a month.

It's worth asking your landlord for an itemized breakdown of "charges" before you sign, rather than after — it's the single easiest way to know upfront whether water, building maintenance or heating are already folded into the rent you agreed to, or waiting for you as a separate line item in month two.

How I help with all of it

This is exactly the kind of admin that piles up quietly in your first two weeks and is exactly the kind I take off a client's plate when I can — making the calls in French, comparing suppliers, booking the internet technician around your actual move-in date rather than whenever a script tells you to, and making sure the insurance attestation exists before your landlord asks for it twice. None of it is complicated on its own; it's just a lot of small things landing in the same busy week.

Common mistakes

Waiting until move-in day to start any of these — electricity, internet and insurance all take days you don't have if you leave them to the last minute. Assuming your landlord's old EDF contract just continues in your name automatically; it doesn't, you need your own. And not asking upfront which charges are already included, which is the fastest way to end up with a surprise bill in your second month.

I once spent an entire Saturday afternoon on hold trying to explain a billing mix-up in French I didn't fully have yet. It got sorted. It's also exactly the kind of afternoon I try to save clients from now.

Ask Nathalie