Crew accommodation in France: is the client liable for the subcontractor's crew housing?

40%of workers posted to France in 2024 worked in construction

6people per room at most in collective worker housing, and no bunk beds

EUR 4,000maximum fine per posted worker when the client skips the declaration check

8 nightsmedian length of our French crew stays (n=12)

A builder is putting up a 15 MW data centre at Meyzieu, east of Lyon. Four workers from abroad, there for a subcontractor, sleep on site. In September a labour inspector visits, and the builder is told to rehouse them. It said it had wanted to do the subcontractor a favour. The investigative site Mediacités reported the case on 27 October.

Our argument: in France, a subcontractor's crew housing is not only the subcontractor's problem. The law can hand it, and the bill, to the client. So the booking decision belongs in the contract and in the posting paperwork, before the crew travels.

What does French law actually say?

Article L4231-1 of the Labour Code applies to any project owner or client that contracts with a company, down the whole subcontracting chain. If a labour inspector informs the client in writing that workers of a contractor or subcontractor are housed in collective accommodation incompatible with human dignity, the client must order the employer, in writing, to end it at once.

If the situation is not fixed, the client has to take over the collective housing of those workers itself, to the standards set under the Labour Code. Only private individuals building for their own family are exempt.

The criminal side sits in article 225-14 of the Penal Code: subjecting a vulnerable or dependent person to working or housing conditions incompatible with human dignity carries up to seven years in prison and a EUR 200,000 fine. On 7 October, a court in Ajaccio convicted a builder whose workers on a site near Cauro had been housed for two years without heating, with damp, mould and leaks.

Why does the address matter before the crew arrives?

Every foreign employer posting workers to France files a declaration in SIPSI, the labour ministry's online service, before the posting starts. Under article R1263-3, it lists the site, the dates, each worker and, where there is one, the address of each collective housing the crew will use.

The client has its own duty. Under article L1262-4-1, it must check before work starts that each posting employer filed the declaration, and the project owner must check the subcontractors it accepts. If it does not get a copy, it must file its own within 48 hours. The fine is up to EUR 4,000 per posted worker, EUR 8,000 if repeated within two years, capped at EUR 500,000.

In practice, the housing has to be booked before the paperwork is filed.

What counts as acceptable crew housing in France?

French rule	What it says	What the booker should check
Client liability (Labour Code L4231-1)	Once told in writing by an inspector that a contractor's or subcontractor's crew lives in undignified collective housing, the client must order it ended at once. If it is not fixed, the client must house the crew itself, to the legal standard	Who books and pays for each subcontractor's housing, written into the contract
Posting declaration (R1263-3)	Filed online in SIPSI before the posting starts. Includes the address of each collective housing the crew moves through	A confirmed address before the declaration is filed, and an update if the crew moves
Client check (L1262-4-1, L1264-3)	The client must check the declaration was filed before work starts. Fine of up to EUR 4,000 per worker, EUR 8,000 if repeated within two years, capped at EUR 500,000	A copy of each subcontractor's declaration on file before day one
Room standards (R4228-26 to R4228-30)	Never in industrial or commercial premises. At least 6 m² and 15 m³ per person, 18°C, lockable, windows. Shared rooms: one sex, max 6, beds 80 cm apart, no bunks. Couples get their own room	Floor area, bed layout and heating, not only the number of beds

The room rules are stricter than many bookers expect: no bunk beds at all, and the ban on industrial or commercial premises rules out the site cabin or warehouse corner.

What does our booking data show?

Posting is big in French construction. Labour ministry statisticians (Dares) counted 255,900 workers posted to France at least once in 2024, outside transport, across 652,000 postings. 40% worked in construction, and the average worker was posted for 92 days in the year.

Our French stays fit the posting pattern. We have 12 non-cancelled crew stays in France across 9 towns, mostly in Brittany. The median stay is 8 nights (n=12), and 10 of the 12 are two weeks or shorter. Where we recorded the booking company's country (7 stays), every one was based outside France. These are exactly the jobs where housing is decided late.

Across Europe, where we recorded headcount and bedrooms (142 stays), 105 crews had a bedroom each, 25 had up to two people per bedroom and 12 had more. The last figure may be overstated, because on split bookings the whole crew's headcount is sometimes copied onto each flat. Flats with real bedrooms clear the French dormitory rules with room to spare. If one flat is too small, splitting the crew across two beats squeezing in extra beds.

What should bookers do differently?

• Decide who houses whom in the contract. If the subcontractor books its own crew housing, say so in writing, and ask to see the address.
• Book before the declaration. The SIPSI declaration needs the housing address. Get a confirmed booking first, and update the declaration if the crew moves.
• Keep the paperwork on file. Hold a copy of each posting employer's declaration before day one. Without it, you have 48 hours to file your own.
• Check the rooms, not just the beds. No bunks, six per room at most, 6 m² per person, heating to 18°C.
• Never on site. A cabin, warehouse or office is not accommodation under French law, even for a few nights.

The wider European picture is in our piece on accommodation standards for posted workers, and the pay side in deducting accommodation from posted workers' pay. For large builds, see crew accommodation for data centre construction.

FAQ

Does the client have to book the crew's accommodation in France?

Not by default. The employer houses its crew. The client becomes responsible when an inspector reports undignified collective housing in writing and the employer does not fix it.

Do we need to declare a flat or hotel in SIPSI?

The declaration asks for the address of collective housing where it applies. If the crew shares accommodation, include the address and keep it up to date when the crew moves.