Commercial Leases/Business Goodwill

The rent price, which constitutes one of the essential elements of the lease contract , must be, if not determined, at least determinable, notably because it can be inferred from the contract or by reference to the practices or previous relations of the parties, without requiring a new agreement from the parties (Article 1163, paras. 2 and 3, Civil Code).

The existence of a commercial lease impli …

Real and serious rent

The rent price, which constitutes one of the essential elements of the lease contract , must be, if not determined, at least determinable, notably because it can be inferred from the contract or by reference to the practices or previous relations of the parties, without requiring a new agreement from the parties (Article 1163, paras. 2 and 3, Civil Code).

The existence of a commercial lease implies the stipulation of a real and serious price , which is assessed on the day of its conclusion . The lease contract, concluded for a derisory or nominal price, may be sanctioned by nullity . This is the case when the lease price is purely symbolic . Gifts of terminals and the granting of telephone subscriptions , or the landlord's waiver of agreed rents for ten years in compensation for refurbishment work on the building carried out by the tenant at the time of signing the lease, without the tenant justifying having borne the financial burden and incurred amounts equivalent to the rents due for the entire duration of the lease , do not constitute serious consideration either. However, the modesty of the rent does not deprive the lease of its proper character when the tenant assumes all repairs and the waiver of an already agreed rent does not alter the nature of the contract binding the parties , or when the parties, by agreeing to the payment of a real and not merely symbolic rent, have manifested their common intention to place their relationship within the framework of a lease, the reduction of the rent, justified by family ties, not depriving the contract of cause . Tenants have acquired the right to enjoy premises for commercial use when, having paid rent to enjoy an entire house, it is irrelevant that the lease amendment concerning the transformation of the garage part into premises for commercial use does not stipulate any additional rent .

Cass. 3e civ., 26 January 1972, LawLex202300003694JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 27 April 1976, LawLex202100004769JBJ. – Also see CA Aix-en-Provence, 12 March 2008, LawLex202100004673JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 19 May 2015, LawLex202100004772JBJ, which overturns the appellate decision holding that a landlord's recovery of the value of constructions built on leased land at the end of the lease constitutes a serious consideration equivalent to rent.

Cass. 3e civ., 27 April 1976, LawLex202100004769JBJ, op. cit.

Cass. 3e civ., 27 April 1976, LawLex202100004769JBJ, prec., to which is added the impossibility of setting the final rent price.

CA Aix-en-Provence, 12 March 2008, LawLex202100004673JBJ, préc.

Cass. 3e civ., 29 June 1992, LawLex202100004770JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 15 May 1973, LawLex202300003773JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 20 November 1991, LawLex202300003775JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 10 February 2004, LawLex202100005653JBJ, which quashes the appellate decision holding that the existence of a lease implies the stipulation of a serious price in exchange for making the property available, that the lessees cannot claim to have acquired the right to enjoy premises for commercial use for the disputed period without providing consideration, and that in the absence of work performed and in the absence of rent payment for the period, the lessor is entitled to seek the granting of fair financial consideration.

Commercial Leases/Business Goodwill

129. Real and serious rent

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

129. Real and serious rent

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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