Commercial Lease Lawyer in Paris

The French commercial lease statute (Articles L. 145-1 et seq. of the Commercial Code) protects the tenant through the right to renewal and eviction compensation, and strictly regulates rent. Law No. 2026-403 of 26 May 2026 on the simplification of economic life amended several rules, notably Article L. 145-40, with a staggered entry into force that landlords and tenants must know.

The firm acts for property owners and for retailers and businesses, from drafting the lease to renewal litigation, including for foreign investors and tenants.

The risk: a notice, a rent or a clause mishandled that costs years of rent

For the landlord, the main risk is eviction compensation under Article L. 145-14: refusing renewal without a serious and legitimate ground means compensating the value of the business or of the leasehold right, plus removal and reinstallation costs, often several years of rent. An irregular or late notice has the same effect.

For the tenant, the risk lies in the termination clause of Article L. 145-41: a formal demand left unanswered for one month forfeits the lease and, with it, the business. Uncapping of the rent on renewal, where local commercial factors have changed, can also double the rent overnight.

The legal solution: mastering the statute’s time limits and mechanisms

The statute is made of mandatory time limits: notice six months before expiry served by an enforcement officer (Article L. 145-9), request for renewal, action to set the rent within two years, challenge to the notice, grace period for the termination clause. Each missed or irregular step tips the balance of power.

On rent, the cap of Article L. 145-34 protects the tenant, save for a notable change in the elements of rental value or a lease exceeding twelve years. The law of 26 May 2026 adjusted some of these rules; the firm has published a detailed analysis and a practical guide for businesses.

How the firm assists you

Upstream, the firm drafts or negotiates the lease: permitted use, allocation of charges and works, indexation clauses, guarantees, assignment and subletting. It audits the existing leases of a property portfolio or a retail network before an acquisition or a renewal.

In litigation, it serves or contests notices, applies to the commercial rent judge to set the renewal rent, defends tenants threatened by the termination clause by seeking time to pay and suspension of its effects, and argues eviction compensation with expert support. It also handles assignments of leases and businesses, with attention to the assignor’s joint guarantee.

Typical matters

The situations below are illustrative scenarios drawn from the firm’s practice and anonymised.

Notice refusing renewal for Paris premises

A landlord refuses to renew a restaurant lease without offering compensation. The firm establishes the absence of a serious and legitimate ground and obtains eviction compensation covering the value of the business.

Formal demand invoking the termination clause

A retailer receives a formal demand for disputed service charge arrears. The firm applies to the court within the one-month period, obtains time to pay and suspension of the clause.

Uncapping on renewal

A landlord seeks uncapping on the basis of changes in the neighbourhood. The firm shows the absence of a notable change in local commercial factors and obtains maintenance of the capped rent.

The lease follows the business. When the business is sold, the lease is transferred with it, and the landlord’s consent and the guarantee clauses are negotiated as part of the acquisition.

Frequently Asked Questions

What protection does a French commercial lease give the tenant?

The right to renewal, which is the heart of the statutory regime, a minimum duration of nine years with the tenant’s option to leave at the end of each three year period, and control over the rent. In exchange the tenant carries obligations on use and on works. The regime is largely mandatory, so a clause depriving the tenant of renewal is ineffective. Certain short leases and specific occupancy arrangements fall outside it altogether, and that qualification is checked before the document is signed rather than afterwards.

How is the rent reviewed?

Either by the triennial review, capped by reference to the statutory index applicable to the activity, or by an indexation clause operating annually according to the lease. Capping protects the tenant against sharp increases, subject to exceptions where the factors of local commerciality have changed materially. An indexation clause operating in one direction only has been held ineffective. Rent review disputes go before a dedicated judge and turn on comparable premises and on the characteristics of the property itself.

What happens at renewal, and what is the eviction indemnity?

At the end of the lease the landlord either offers renewal or refuses it. A refusal without a statutory ground entitles the tenant to an eviction indemnity compensating the loss of the business, and its amount, usually the value of the goodwill together with removal and reinstallation costs, frequently exceeds what the landlord expected. The landlord may exercise a right of repentance within the statutory period. The procedure and the deadlines are strict, and a notice served in the wrong form loses the very right it was meant to exercise.

Which charges and works can be passed to the tenant?

Not all of them. The law requires an inventory of charges, taxes and works to be annexed to the lease and kept up to date, and it prohibits passing to the tenant the cost of major structural works and of works needed to bring the premises into compliance where those fall on the owner. Management fees relating to the ownership of the premises cannot be charged either. Clauses drafted before these rules are often unenforceable in part, which is worth checking when an unexpected charge schedule arrives.

Can the lease be terminated early?

The tenant may leave at the end of each three year period by notice given in the required form and time, unless the lease validly excludes that option in one of the cases the law allows. The landlord may terminate where the lease contains a forfeiture clause and the tenant fails to remedy a breach after formal notice, and the courts can grant time to comply, which frequently saves the lease. Assignment of the lease together with the business cannot be prohibited, although conditions may be imposed.

What does the 2026 reform change?

A law of 26 May 2026 has modified the commercial lease regime, so leases, notices and precedents prepared before that date are checked against the current text rather than reused as they stand. The points that repay attention are the formal requirements for notices, the treatment of charges and works, and the conditions of renewal, because that is where an outdated form causes the loss of a right. Any lease signed or renewed now is drafted under the new regime.