Chapter V: Commercial leases.

The lessor has the right to refuse to renew the lease in order to construct or rebuild the existing building, subject to paying the evicted tenant the eviction compensation provided for in article L. 145-14. The same applies to carrying out work requiring the evacuation of premises included in a sector or perimeter provided for in articles L. 313-4 and L. 313-4-2 of the town planning code and authorised or…

To benefit from the priority right provided for in article L. 145-17, the tenant must, on vacating the premises or, at the latest within three months thereafter, notify the landlord of his wish to use the premises, by extrajudicial act or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, informing the landlord of his new domicile; he must likewise notify, under penalty of forfeiture, any new change of domicile. A landlord…

Where the rebuilt building, under the conditions provided for in Article L. 145-17, has a larger surface area than the original building, the right of priority is limited to premises with a surface area equivalent to that of the premises previously occupied or likely to meet the same commercial needs as the latter. Where the reconstructed building does not allow all the occupants to be relocated, preference is given to…

The owner may also defer the renewal of the lease for a maximum of three years if he proposes to raise the building and if this raising makes it necessary to temporarily evict the tenant. In this case, the tenant is entitled to compensation equal to the loss suffered, up to a maximum of three years’ rent.

The lessor may refuse to renew the lease exclusively in respect of the part concerning the residential premises ancillary to the commercial premises in order to live in them himself or have them lived in by his spouse, ascendants, descendants or those of his spouse, provided that the beneficiary of the repossession does not have a dwelling corresponding to his normal needs and those of the members of his family…

The lessor may, at the end of a three-year period, in the forms provided for by article L. 145-9 and at least six months in advance, repossess residential premises rented as an accessory to business premises if they are not used for residential purposes. The repossession may only be exercised if, after a period of six months following the notice issued for this purpose, the premises are not being used…

The right to renewal may not be enforced against an owner who has obtained planning permission to build residential premises on all or part of one of the properties referred to in 2° of article L. 145-1. In any event, this right of repossession may only be exercised over the part of the land that is essential for construction. If it has the effect of necessarily leading to the cessation…

An owner or principal tenant who, at the same time as being the lessor of the premises, is the vendor of the business operated there and who has received the full price may refuse renewal only on condition that he pays the eviction compensation provided for in Article L. 145-14, unless the lessee can prove a serious and legitimate reason against the lessee.

The renewal of leases concerning buildings owned by the State, local authorities and public establishments may not be refused without the owning authority being required to pay the eviction compensation provided for in article L. 145-14, even if its refusal is justified by a reason of public interest.

If it is established against the lessor that he has exercised the rights granted to him under articles L. 145-17 et seq that with a view to fraudulently defeating the tenant’s rights, in particular through leasing and resale operations, whether these operations are civil or commercial in nature, the tenant is entitled to compensation equal to the amount of the loss suffered.