When a French commercial lease reaches its end date, it does not renew by itself: the landlord’s notice, the tenant’s renewal request, a refusal with eviction compensation, the new rent. Each step is subject to a deadline, and missing it can cost you the right. Maître Léa Scemama acts for landlords and tenants, in English, from the notice that opens the renewal to the court that sets commercial rents. The firm acts throughout France. This page complements our commercial lease lawyer page.
Instructing the firm on a lease renewal
| Your case | What the firm provides |
|---|---|
| Getting started | A call back within 24 working hours, then a first conversation, by video call if you are abroad, to review the lease, its end date and any notices already served or received, and to set the timetable of deadlines. |
| Fees | Notice, renewal request or reply: billed on time spent, at €300 per hour excluding VAT. Court proceedings to set the rent or the eviction compensation: from €3,000 excluding VAT. Set out in a fee agreement signed before any work starts. |
| Timescale | Usually several months for the court to set the rent, and more than a year if an expert is appointed; one to several years before the decision fixing eviction compensation. |
| Outside Paris | Throughout France. Outside the area of the Paris Court of Appeal, a local lawyer goes on the record where the law requires it (Law of 31 December 1971, article 5). The firm remains your point of contact. |
| Follow-up | One point of contact, Maître Léa Scemama, with an update in English at each stage: opening notice, reply, written statement, expert report, decision. |
Deadlines for renewing a commercial lease
| Step | Deadline | If you miss it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landlord’s notice | Six months before the end date, for the last day of a calendar quarter, served by a judicial officer | The lease continues by tacit extension | Commercial Code, art. L. 145-9 |
| Tenant’s renewal request | Within the six months before expiry, or at any time during the tacit extension | The lease continues with no fixed end date | Commercial Code, art. L. 145-10 |
| Landlord’s reply to the request | Three months | Silence counts as accepting renewal in principle | Commercial Code, art. L. 145-10 |
| Landlord’s right to change its mind | Fifteen days from the date the decision fixing the compensation becomes final | The refusal becomes final and the compensation is due | Commercial Code |
| Limitation period | Two years | All claims based on the commercial lease rules are time-barred | Commercial Code, art. L. 145-60 |
The landlord’s notice and the tenant’s renewal request
Renewal starts with a formal document. The landlord serves notice through a judicial officer at least six months before the end date and for the last day of a calendar quarter (article L. 145-9 of the Commercial Code), either offering renewal or refusing it. The tenant can also request renewal within the six months before expiry, or at any time during a tacit extension, through a judicial officer or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (article L. 145-10).
The landlord then has three months to reply: silence counts as accepting renewal in principle. The terms, and in particular the rent, still have to be agreed and can be negotiated separately. Without a notice or a request, the lease continues by tacit extension, with an often overlooked effect on the rent, explained below.
Refusal to renew and eviction compensation
The landlord can refuse to renew, but unless it has serious and legitimate grounds or the building is unfit for use, it must pay the tenant eviction compensation covering the full loss (article L. 145-14 of the Commercial Code): the market value of the business or the cost of relocating, depending on whether the loss is total, removal and re-establishment costs, transfer duties, business disruption and any redundancies. The amount is usually assessed by a court-appointed expert.
Until the compensation is paid, the tenant stays in the premises and pays an occupation indemnity. The landlord can still change its mind within fifteen days of the date the decision fixing the compensation becomes final, provided the tenant is still in the premises and has not already rented or bought other premises (article L. 145-58 of the Commercial Code).
The right to withdraw once the rent is set
While the court is setting the rent of the renewed lease, the tenant keeps paying the old rent, or the provisional rent set by the court. Once the final decision has been served, each party has one month to withdraw: the tenant from the renewal, the landlord by refusing it, the party that withdraws bearing the costs (article L. 145-57 of the Commercial Code). A landlord who withdraws in this way still owes eviction compensation.
Rent of the renewed lease: the cap and when it is lifted
On renewal, the rent is in principle capped at the change in the commercial rent index (ILC) or the office activities rent index (ILAT). There are three exceptions:
- A material change: the landlord can ask for the cap to be lifted if it shows a material change in the factors that determine rental value listed in article L. 145-34 of the Commercial Code, such as the features of the premises, the permitted use, the parties’ obligations or local trading conditions.
- An actual term of more than twelve years: where the lease has continued by tacit extension beyond twelve years, the rent of the renewed lease is no longer capped, without any material change having to be shown.
- Phasing in: where the cap is lifted, the increase cannot exceed 10% of the rent paid in the previous year. This does not apply where the cap is lifted because the lease lasted more than twelve years.
If the parties disagree, proceedings before the judge who sets commercial rents require a written statement to be notified first, and the departmental conciliation committee can be asked to help beforehand.
To estimate the effect of the index on your rent, you can use our commercial rent review calculator.
The latest values and full history of the commercial rents index (ILC) are set out on our dedicated page.
What the lawyer does on a lease renewal
| You are | What the firm does |
|---|---|
| Landlord | Timetable of deadlines, notice offering or refusing renewal, analysis of the grounds for lifting the rent cap, written statement and court proceedings on the rent, defence on eviction compensation |
| Tenant | Renewal request within the deadline, reply to a notice, challenge to an uncapped rent, assessment and defence of eviction compensation, staying in the premises |
Questions about renewing a commercial lease in France
When should a tenant request renewal of a French commercial lease?
Within the six months before the lease expires, or at any time if it continues by tacit extension, through a judicial officer or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (article L. 145-10 of the Commercial Code).
Can the landlord refuse to renew without paying anything?
Only if it has serious and legitimate grounds or the building is unfit for use. Otherwise, a refusal obliges it to pay eviction compensation covering the tenant’s full loss (article L. 145-14 of the Commercial Code).
Can the rent rise sharply on renewal?
In principle no: it is capped at the change in the index. The cap can be lifted where there is a material change in the factors of rental value, or where the lease has lasted more than twelve years by tacit extension, and in that last case without any phasing in of the increase.
How long do I have to act?
Two years: under article L. 145-60 of the Commercial Code, all claims based on the commercial lease rules are time-barred after two years, and only court proceedings stop the clock.
In the same area of law
- Commercial leases: our main page, from negotiation to court.
- Commercial lease assignment: selling or taking over the lease, with or without the business.
- Property litigation: time limits and urgent procedures.
Written by Maître Léa Scemama, member of the Paris Bar, Miraï Avocats. This page sets out the law as it stood on the date it was last updated. It is general information, not advice on your particular situation.
Updated on