Key dates of a French commercial lease
| Event | Rule | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum term | Nine years | Commercial Code, art. L. 145-4 |
| Tenant notice | At the end of each three-year period, at least six months ahead, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or by a judicial officer | Art. L. 145-4 |
| Landlord notice | Six months ahead, served by a judicial officer, with reasons. At a three-year break date, only for the projects listed in L. 145-4, paragraph 3 | Art. L. 145-9 and L. 145-4 |
| Tenant renewal request | In the six months before expiry, or at any time while the lease runs on | Art. L. 145-10 |
| Landlord reply | Three months to serve a refusal through a judicial officer. Silence means the landlord accepts renewal in principle | Art. L. 145-10 |
| Notice during tacit extension | Six months ahead and for the last day of a calendar quarter | Art. L. 145-9 |
| Term of the renewed lease | Nine years, unless the parties agree a longer term | Art. L. 145-12 |
| Rent review | At least three years after the tenant moves in or the renewed lease starts, then every three years | Art. L. 145-38 |
| Lease extended beyond twelve years | The cap on the renewed rent no longer applies | Art. L. 145-34 |
| Time limit to sue | Two years | Art. L. 145-60 |
Ending a French commercial lease as a tenant: the three-year break
The tenant can give notice at the end of each three-year period. Notice must be served at least six months ahead, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or through a judicial officer (article L. 145-4 of the French Commercial Code).
The six months count backwards from the break date. Notice served after the deadline does not allow you to leave on that date: the lease runs at least until the next break date, and rent stays due until then.
Example: for a lease that started on 1 April 2021, the second three-year period ends on 31 March 2027. Notice must be served by 30 September 2026. After that, the next exit is the contractual expiry on 31 March 2030.
- Leave a margin. Send notice several weeks before the deadline, so that you do not depend on when the letter is delivered. The tool shows a recommended date one month earlier.
- Read the lease. Four kinds of lease can exclude the three-year break: leases for more than nine years, premises built for a single use, premises used only as offices, and certain storage premises. The lease clause then prevails over the dates shown.
- Consider assignment. A tenant who wants to leave between two break dates can assign the lease, on the terms the lease allows. See our page on assigning a French commercial lease.
Retirement or invalidity
A tenant who has applied for a retirement pension, or who receives an invalidity pension from their social security scheme, can give notice in the form and with the notice period of paragraph 2 of article L. 145-4, without waiting for a break date. The same applies to their heirs on death, to the sole shareholder of a single-member limited company and to the majority manager of at least two years of a limited company, where the company holds the lease. Tick the matching box in the tool.
Notice served by the landlord
The landlord serves notice through a judicial officer, at least six months ahead. On pain of nullity, the notice states its reasons and tells the tenant that any challenge or claim for eviction compensation must be brought before the court within two years of the date for which notice was given (article L. 145-9).
As a rule, the landlord can only give notice for the end of the lease. At a three-year break date, it can do so only to build, rebuild or add storeys, reassign the ancillary living space, convert the building mainly to housing, carry out restoration works or demolish the building within an urban renewal project (article L. 145-4, paragraph 3).
Renewing a French commercial lease: when to ask
If no notice has been given, a tenant who wants a renewal must request it in the six months before the lease expires, or at any time while it runs on. The request is served through a judicial officer or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and on pain of nullity it must reproduce the paragraph of article L. 145-10 on the landlord's reply.
The landlord has three months from service to state its refusal and reasons, through a judicial officer. If it stays silent, it is deemed to accept renewal in principle. The new rent still has to be set.
The renewed lease runs for nine years, unless the parties agree a longer term (article L. 145-12). Steps, eviction compensation and the renewed rent are covered on our commercial lease renewal page.
If nobody acts: tacit extension
If no notice is given and no renewal is requested, a written lease does not end at its expiry date. It carries on by tacit extension beyond the contractual term (article L. 145-9).
During tacit extension, notice must be given at least six months ahead and for the last day of a calendar quarter: 31 March, 30 June, 30 September or 31 December. If the tenant requests renewal during this period, the new lease starts on the first day of the calendar quarter after the request (article L. 145-12).
Tacit extension also affects rent. Where tacit extension takes the total term beyond twelve years, the renewed rent is no longer capped by the change in the index (article L. 145-34). For a nine-year lease, the tool shows the date when that point is reached.
Three-yearly rent review: from when
A rent review can only be requested at least three years after the tenant moved in or after the renewed lease started. The reviewed rent applies from the date of the request. Further requests can be made every three years from the day the new rent applies (article L. 145-38).
Unless a material change in local trading conditions has by itself moved the rental value by more than 10%, the increase or decrease is limited to the change in the commercial rents index (ILC) or the tertiary activities rents index (ILAT) since the rent was last set. Work out the reviewed rent with our commercial rent review calculator and see the history of the ILC index and the ILAT index.
How the tool counts the time limits
- Break dates. Each three-year period ends the day before the third anniversary of the start date. A lease that started on 1 April 2021 has break dates on 31 March 2024 and 2027, and expires on 31 March 2030.
- Notice deadline. The last day that leaves six full months before the break date. When the start day has no match six months earlier, for example for a break date on 30 August or 28 February, the tool keeps the more cautious of the two possible readings.
- 29 February. A lease that starts on 29 February 2024 has its anniversary on 1 March in non-leap years. Its first break date is 28 February 2027.
- Tacit extension. Once the expiry date has passed, the tool finds the first quarter end for which notice served today meets the six-month period.
- Your data. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored. The calendar file is created on your device.
The most costly calendar mistakes
- Confusing signing date and start date. Three-year periods run from the date the lease takes effect.
- Counting six months from sending. The period runs backwards from the break date, not from the day you decide to leave.
- Getting the form wrong. Landlord notice must be served by a judicial officer. A letter is not enough.
- Letting the expiry date pass. Tacit extension sets in without anyone choosing it, and beyond twelve years the renewed rent is no longer capped.
- Waiting more than two years to act. Claims under the commercial lease rules are time-barred after two years (article L. 145-60).
