Commercial Lease Lawyer in Paris

Short answer. A commercial lease is granted for at least nine years, the tenant being able to give notice at the end of each three-year period (Article L. 145-4 of the Commercial Code); it ends only by notice given six months in advance by a commissaire de justice (Article L. 145-9). A landlord who refuses renewal must, absent a serious and legitimate reason, pay eviction compensation equal to the loss caused (Article L. 145-14). A termination clause takes effect only one month after a formal demand that remains unanswered, and the court may grant time to pay that suspends its effects (Article L. 145-41). The rent on renewal is capped, unless local commercial factors change significantly or the lease exceeds twelve years (Article L. 145-34). Since Law No. 2026-403 of 26 May 2026, the sums and guarantees required from the tenant of premises covered by Article L. 145-32-1 may not exceed one quarter’s rent (Article L. 145-40).

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.

For the five amendments made by the Law of 26 May 2026 and what they require of each party, see our article Commercial lease: the Law of 26 May 2026, what changes for landlord and tenant.

On renewal, see our article Commercial lease renewal: rent uncapping and eviction compensation.

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.

What is the minimum term of a French commercial lease?

Nine years. Article L. 145-4 of the Commercial Code, in the version in force since 25 November 2018, provides that the term of the lease may not be less than nine years, while reserving to the tenant the right to give notice at the end of each three-year period. This asymmetry is at the core of the statute: the landlord is bound for nine years, whereas the tenant may leave every three years, save for limited exceptions. Two practical consequences follow. A tenant who signs a waiver of the triennial option must understand that it is committing firmly for nine years. And triennial notice is subject to strict formal and time requirements, failing which the lease continues for a further three years.

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.

How can an uncapping of the rent be challenged?

First by checking that the conditions for uncapping are met, since the principle on renewal remains the cap. The landlord usually relies on a notable change in local commercial factors, a change in the characteristics of the premises, in the permitted use or in the parties’ obligations, or on a lease term exceeding twelve years. Each of these grounds requires a concrete and documented demonstration, not a general assertion about how the neighbourhood has evolved. The challenge is prepared with factual evidence: surveys of local commercial activity, comparison with rents actually charged, entry and exit inventories. This is an area in which the file almost always prevails over the argument.

Can the rent be revised during the lease?

Yes. Either party may request a triennial review at the end of each three-year period, and the revised rent is in principle capped by the change in the reference index since the rent was last set. The cap gives way where a material change in local commercial factors has in itself caused a change of more than ten per cent in the rental value: that is the opening landlords seek to exploit, and it is proved by objective evidence such as urban development works, the opening of a transport hub or the transformation of the neighbourhood. A poorly reasoned request has no effect and costs three years.

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.

How is eviction compensation calculated?

It makes good the loss caused by the refusal to renew. Its main component is the value of the business or, if lower, the value of the leasehold right, to which are added removal and reinstallation costs, any redundancy payments and miscellaneous expenses. In practice, the debate concerns the method used to value the business, which varies with the activity, and whether the business can be relocated without loss of clientele, in which case only the value of the leasehold right is due. Preparation therefore consists in documenting the clientele attached to the premises, through the accounts, the origin of customers and the nature of the activity.

When may the landlord refuse renewal without paying compensation?

In three situations, all strictly construed. First, a serious and legitimate ground against the tenant, which presupposes a persistent breach and is accepted only if the landlord has given the tenant formal notice to cease and the tenant has let one month pass without complying. Second, a building officially declared unsanitary and due to be demolished. Third, the reconstruction or raising of the building under the conditions laid down by the statute, usually coupled with a right of priority for the tenant. Outside these cases, refusal remains possible but eviction compensation is due, and its amount frequently exceeds the value the landlord hoped to recover by taking back the premises.

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 should a tenant do on receiving a formal demand invoking the termination clause?

React immediately, because time runs from service and the period is short. Two courses are available, often in combination. The first is to remedy the breach within the period, which neutralises the clause; the difficulty is that the amount claimed sometimes includes disputable sums, which are better paid under reserve than left in dispute. The second is to apply to the court for time to pay, the grant of which suspends the effects of the clause for as long as the time allowed is respected. What must not be done is to open amicable negotiations while letting the period run: once it expires, the lease is terminated automatically and almost all room for manoeuvre disappears.

Can the lease be assigned freely?

Assignment of the lease to the purchaser of the business cannot be prohibited, but it may be regulated: the landlord’s approval, the landlord’s participation in the deed, a clause making the assignor jointly liable as guarantor for a limited period, and in some cases a right of pre-emption. An assignment of the leasehold right alone, without the business, is by contrast governed by the terms of the lease and may be prohibited. Three checks are essential before committing to an assignment: the exact wording of the clause, compliance with the formalities of service or participation in the deed, and the assignor’s rental position, since unpaid arrears may ground an objection. They are carried out before the preliminary sale agreement is signed, not afterwards.

What does the 2026 reform change?

It is Law No. 2026-403 of 26 May 2026 on the simplification of economic life, Article 62 of which amended Article L. 145-40 of the Commercial Code, in force since 28 May 2026. The text now caps the sums paid by way of security: for the premises referred to in Article L. 145-32-1, they may not exceed the amount of one quarter’s rent, and the same rule applies to the value of assets, securities and undertakings given as security. Rent paid in advance beyond two terms continues to bear interest for the tenant. As the other provisions of the law have their own timetable, the one applicable to the lease concerned is checked before any notice is served or any request for renewal is made.

Matters in this area are handled by Hervé Guyader, avocat at the Paris Bar and Doctor of Law. Page updated on 17 October 2026.