The deadline registerCommercial lease · tenant leaving
French commercial lease: giving notice at the three-year term, and by which date
In an ordinary nine-year commercial lease, the tenant can leave at three-year terms with at least six months’ notice, by registered letter or judicial officer’s act (L145-4). Authorised clauses may exclude this exit. Retirement or disability permits early notice only for eligible applicants. Without notice or a renewal request, tacit extension requires six months’ notice ending on a calendar quarter; a renewed lease requires another calendar.
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Tenant: by which date must you give notice, and when will the lease end?
Enter the date the lease took effect and, if you know it, the date the notice will be served: the register works out the terms, the deadlines and the end of the lease. The example: a lease that took effect on 1 October 2023, notice served on 25 September 2026. The result is indicative: confirm the ordinary-case conditions; a special case or unknown decisive fact prevents calculation.
Fictional example · commercial notice register
With a notice served on 25 September 2026, the lease ends on 30 September 2029.
The lease takes effect
Last day to serve notice for the 3-year term
Notice served
3-year term
Last day to serve notice for the 6-year term
6-year term
End of the lease with this notice
Last day to serve notice for the 9-year term
End of the 9 years: without notice or a renewal request, the lease continues by tacit extension
Form of the notice: Registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or judicial officer’s writ.
Allow a margin: a notice served less than 6 months before the term only counts for the next term. A lease of more than 9 years, of offices, of storage or of single-use premises can exclude the three-year exit.
Who can give notice, when and in what form?
The rules change with the party and the stage of the lease.
| Situation | When | Notice | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenant, general case | At each 3, 6 or 9-year term | At least 6 months before the term | Registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or judicial officer’s writ |
| Tenant retiring or on an invalidity pension | At any time | At least 6 months | Registered letter or judicial officer’s writ |
| Landlord, during the 9 years | At the three-year term, only to build, rebuild, raise the building or for certain works | At least 6 months | Judicial officer’s writ |
| Landlord, end of the 9 years | At the end of the lease | At least 6 months | Judicial officer’s writ with reasons |
| After 9 years, lease extended | For the last day of a calendar quarter | At least 6 months | Depending on the party, as above |
A lease of more than 9 years, a lease of offices, storage premises or premises built for a single use can exclude the tenant’s three-year exit (article L145-4).
Sources: C. com. L145-4 · C. com. L145-9
What happens if the notice arrives less than 6 months before the term?
Notice received less than 6 months before the term does not end the lease at that term. According to Entreprendre Service Public, missing the 6-month time limit carries the notice’s effect over to the next three-year period: a notice served too late for 30 September 2026 only takes effect on 30 September 2029.
For a term ending on 30 September, the notice must therefore be served by 31 March at the latest. Allow a margin for delivery, and keep proof of the date: acknowledgement of receipt or the judicial officer’s writ.
Sources: Entreprendre Service Public F31707 · C. com. L145-4
Can the landlord make you leave at the end of the lease?
Yes, by a notice served by a judicial officer at least 6 months ahead, which must state its reasons and remind the tenant that they have 2 years to go to court (Commercial Code, article L145-9). Without a serious and legitimate reason, refusing renewal obliges the landlord to pay eviction compensation (articles L145-14 and L145-17).
This compensation includes in particular the market value of the business, and the moving and resettlement costs, unless the landlord proves a smaller loss. For the landlord’s documents, refusal and renewed rent, use the commercial lease renewal file; the calendar above concerns the tenant’s notice.
Sources: C. com. L145-9 · C. com. L145-14
What happens to the lease without notice at the end of the 9 years?
Without notice or a request for renewal, the commercial lease continues by tacit extension beyond its term (Commercial Code, article L145-9). During this extension, each party can give notice at least 6 months ahead, for the last day of a calendar quarter. The tenant can also ask for renewal at any time; the landlord has 3 months to answer, failing which it is deemed to accept the principle of renewal (article L145-10).
Sources: C. com. L145-9 · C. com. L145-10
What does article L145-4 of the Commercial Code say about the three-year exit?
The minimum length of the lease and the tenant’s right to leave every 3 years.
La durée du contrat de location ne peut être inférieure à neuf ans.
Toutefois, le preneur a la faculté de donner congé à l’expiration d’une période triennale, au moins six mois à l’avance, par lettre recommandée avec demande d’avis de réception ou par acte extrajudiciaire.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): The lease cannot be for less than nine years. However, the tenant may give notice at the end of a three-year period, at least six months ahead, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or by a writ. The same article allows a tenant who has claimed their retirement or receives an invalidity pension, and their successors if they die, to leave at any time with 6 months’ notice.
What changed for French commercial leases in 2026?
The simplification law of 26 May 2026 changed the rent, the guarantees and the termination clause, not the notice.
The tenant of retail premises or premises for commercial or craft services is entitled to pay the rent monthly if they ask and have no arrears (Commercial Code, article L145-32-1, law no. 2026-403 of 26 May 2026).
Source: C. com. L145-32-1
For these premises, guarantees are limited to one quarter’s rent in leases signed or renewed since the law, and the deposit is returned within 3 months of handing back the keys (article L145-40).
Sources: C. com. L145-40 · Entreprendre Service Public F36538
According to Entreprendre Service Public, the return of the deposit within 3 months also applies from this date to leases running on 26 May 2026.
What do business tenants ask before leaving their premises?
Can you leave a commercial lease before the end of the 3 years?
Not on your own, except for retirement, invalidity or death (Commercial Code, article L145-4). The tenant and the landlord can, however, end the lease by mutual agreement at any time; the landlord then checks with the court registry whether creditors are registered against the business.
Does the tenant’s notice have to give reasons?
No. At the three-year term, the tenant does not have to justify leaving. Only the landlord’s notice must state its reasons, on pain of nullity (Commercial Code, article L145-9).
How long do you have to challenge the landlord’s notice?
Within 2 years of the date for which the notice was given, to challenge the notice or claim eviction compensation (Commercial Code, articles L145-9 and L145-60).
Does the deposit earn interest?
For retail premises or premises for commercial or craft services let under a lease signed or renewed since 28 May 2026, guarantees are limited to one quarter’s rent and earn no interest (Commercial Code, article L145-40). In other cases, sums above two rent instalments paid in advance earn interest at the Banque de France rate.
Which texts set these rules on commercial lease notice?
- Commercial Code, article L145-4 (length, three-year notice, retirement and invalidity)Légifrance, in French
- Commercial Code, article L145-9 (notice, tacit extension, form of the landlord’s notice)Légifrance, in French
- Commercial Code, articles L145-14 and L145-17 (eviction compensation and serious reason)Légifrance, in French
- Commercial Code, article L145-10 (renewal request)Légifrance, in French
- Terminating a commercial lease (fiche F31707)Entreprendre Service Public, in French · checked by the publisher on 28 May 2026
- Commercial Code, article L145-32-1 (monthly rent payment)Légifrance, in French
- Commercial Code, article L145-40 (rent in advance and guarantees)Légifrance, in French
- Is a deposit required in a commercial lease? (fiche F36538)Entreprendre Service Public, in French · checked by the publisher on 28 May 2026
Texts cited last checked: 25 September 2026