Contract for renting apartments

I have had an actual contract once when renting an apartment. She was a very nervous landlord. The others we have rented simply state their terms online. I am OK with a contract if I can a) cancel within a reasonable time period (say up to 30 days prior to arrival), and b) I have trip cancellation insurance in case of a last minute disaster.

I had to sign a contract for the apartment I rented in Paris last October, but no other apartment I've stayed in has required it.

Never had to sign a contract and we have rented apartments all over and so far have been very fortunate as they all exceeded expectations.

We've rented two apts in Paris and signed a contract both times. Everything went well and we were very happy.

Patrick I suggest you name the company you are using,, their reputation is more important then the actual terms. I rented an apartment in Paris this summer and and signed a contract and had absolutely no problems. I used Parisbestlodge and cannot recommend them enough!

We've rented through lodgis.com many times and always signed a contract with the apartment owner.

We've rented apartments twice in Paris, and both times signed a contract. One apartment was through an agency (Paris Vacation Apartments) and the other was through an owner, who luckily for us lived in the US, so communications were a breeze.