Commercial Leases/Business Goodwill

The renewal of the lease is not automatic and takes the form of a notice when it originates from the lessor. In the absence of notice, it is up to the lessee, who wishes to obtain the renewal of their lease, to request it (Art. L. 145-10 Commercial Code). Article L. 145-9, para. 2, of the Commercial Code specifies that in the absence of notice or renewal request, “the lease made in writing is tacitly extended beyond the term set by the contract.” However, the clause inserted in the initial lease, which specifies that at the end of the first nine-year period, the lease will be renewed for a new nine-year period, is not contrary to the status of commercial leases. In this case, the lessor has no obligation to give notice with an offer of renewal since the parties have agreed on the automaticity of this renewal under rent conditions accepted by them . Thus, in the presence of such a clause, the lease is automatically renewed upon its expiration and does not fall within the framework of a tacit extension. Similarly, no legal provision requires the parties to follow any procedure, such as giving notice, when they have mutually agreed to enter into a new lease, under conditions different from the previous one, in which they have set the new rent price without reference to the old one, and which governs the parties .

Cass. 3e civ., 27 October 2004, LawLex202300010298JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 25 June 2003, LawLex202200004844JBJ.

209. Renewal procedure