Unpaid rent in France: what to do, step by step

Unpaid rent in France is handled in steps, in an order set by law: reminder, formal notice, call on the guarantor, then a commandement de payer (a formal demand served by a commissaire de justice, France's court-appointed enforcement officer), which gives the tenant six weeks to clear the debt. If nothing is paid, only a judge can confirm the end of the lease and order the eviction, which the commissaire de justice carries out after an order to vacate and a delay of two months, and never during the winter truce. The core of the procedure is article 24 of the law of 6 July 1989, the statute governing residential leases.

This guide follows the whole path, from the first day late to the tenant's departure. Each step links to a detailed guide.

The steps and their delays in one table#

Step	Who acts	Minimum delay set by law	Text
Friendly reminder	You	None: from the first day late	—
Formal notice (mise en demeure)	You	None; makes statutory interest run	Civil code, art. 1344 and 1344-1
Commandement de payer	Commissaire de justice	Six weeks to pay	1989 law, art. 24 I
Guarantor informed	Commissaire de justice	Within fifteen days of the commandement	1989 law, art. 24 I
Summons to court (assignation)	Commissaire de justice	Notified to the prefect six weeks before the hearing	1989 law, art. 24 III
Judgment	Juge des contentieux de la protection	Payment delays of up to three years possible	1989 law, art. 24 V
Order to vacate (commandement de quitter les lieux)	Commissaire de justice	Two months before the eviction	CPCE, art. L412-1
Eviction	Commissaire de justice, with the police if needed	Never from 1 November to 31 March of the following year	CPCE, art. L412-6

The CPCE is the Code des procédures civiles d'exécution, France's code of civil enforcement. No text sets how long the court itself takes, and it varies from one court to the next: expect several months between the first missed rent and the judgment.

1. The first day late: check before you act#

The tenant must pay rent and charges "on the dates agreed" in the lease (article 7 of the 1989 law). Rent missing from the statement is not always unpaid rent:

• the transfer left late: a day or two of banking lag happens, especially at the start of the month;
• the housing benefit is paid separately: when the CAF (the family benefits office) or the MSA pays the APL housing benefit straight to you (tiers payant), the tenant owes only the rest. The law states that a partial payment made under that scheme is not a default;
• the payment is partial: the tenant paid part of it. The debt is the balance still owed.

Once the arrears are confirmed, note the date and the amount. Everything that follows is counted from that statement. For a tenant holding back the last month against the deposit, see Can a tenant skip the last month's rent in France?.

2. The reminder, then the formal notice#

Start with a friendly reminder: a message or a plain letter stating the amount due and the due date, and offering to talk. Many late payments are settled at this stage, sometimes through a repayment plan agreed between you. If you reach an agreement, put it in writing and both sign it. Timing and wording are covered in Late rent in France: when and how to chase it.

If nothing moves, send a formal notice (mise en demeure) by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. It formally calls on the tenant to pay and makes statutory interest run on the sum owed, without you having to prove any loss (articles 1344 and 1344-1 of the Civil code). It is also evidence that you claimed what you are owed before incurring costs. Our free formal notice template for unpaid rent builds the French letter as a PDF in your browser.

A formal notice does not replace the commandement de payer: it does not start the delay of the lease's termination clause. Only the commissaire de justice's deed does (step 4).

Service-Public, the French government's information site, also states that before asking the judge to end the lease, an attempt at conciliation is compulsory when the debt is no more than €5,000 (article 750-1 of the Code of civil procedure, which lists exceptions). The conciliateur de justice (a volunteer court mediator) is free, and trying early saves trying later.

3. The guarantor, insurance and the CAF#

The guarantor (caution). From the first missed rent, you can claim the sum from the person who stood guarantor. Tell them early: they often have good reason to push the tenant to pay. If you have a commandement de payer served, it must reach the guarantor within fifteen days of the tenant's, otherwise the guarantor does not owe penalties or late interest (article 24 of the 1989 law).

The Visale guarantee or rent guarantee insurance (GLI). These cover rent on terms set in their contract, with a deadline to declare the arrears that is often short. Read your contract from the first late payment: a late declaration can cost you the cover.

The CAF or the MSA. If you receive the tenant's housing benefit directly, you must report the arrears to them within two months of the arrears being constituted (article R824-4 of the Construction and housing code). Failing to report carries a penalty. The threshold is changing:

Period	Arrears constituted when…	Text
Until 31 December 2026	the debt reaches twice the monthly rent and charges net of the benefit	CCH, art. R824-1
From 1 January 2027	three months after a first missed payment, whatever its amount, or as soon as the debt exceeds €450	CCH, art. R824-2, 2027 version

For a tenant acting in good faith, the benefit in principle keeps being paid while the arrears are dealt with, which limits the debt. To count benefit paid to the landlord, see housing benefit paid to the landlord in France.

4. The commandement de payer#

If the reminder and the formal notice have failed, you instruct a commissaire de justice to serve a commandement de payer. This is the deed that triggers the lease's termination clause (clause résolutoire): the clause only takes effect six weeks after a commandement that went unpaid.

On pain of nullity, the commandement must state the six-week delay, the rent and charges, a statement of the debt, a warning about the procedure, the address of the housing solidarity fund (FSL) and the right to ask the judge for time. The commissaire de justice reports it to the CCAPEX (the departmental eviction-prevention committee) when you are a private individual or a family company and the arrears have run for two months without a break, or the debt reaches twice the monthly rent excluding charges.

Was your lease signed before 29 July 2023? The Cour de cassation, France's highest civil court, held that leases in force on 29 July 2023 keep the delay in their clause (often two months) (opinion of 13 June 2024).

Content, cost and the guarantor are covered in Commandement de payer: deadline, content and cost.

5. The court: termination clause and payment delays#

If the debt is still unpaid after six weeks, the commissaire de justice summons the tenant before the juge des contentieux de la protection (the local judge for tenancy disputes) of the court for the property's area. The summons must be notified to the prefect six weeks before the hearing, so that a social and financial assessment of the tenant is made and sent to the judge. If you are a company other than a family SCI, you must also refer the case to the CCAPEX two months before the summons.

At the hearing, two main outcomes:

• The judge confirms the termination clause: the lease ends, the tenant becomes an occupant without right or title, owes an occupancy payment (indemnité d'occupation) set by the judge, and the eviction is ordered.
• The judge grants payment delays of up to three years, if the tenant can pay off the debt and has resumed paying the full current rent before the hearing. The clause's effects are then suspended. At the first missed rent or instalment, the clause takes full effect again.

Since the law of 27 July 2023, every residential lease contains a termination clause. How it works, and what happens with an older lease that has none, is explained in Lease termination clause in France: when it applies.

6. The eviction#

The judgment alone does not give you the property back. The commissaire de justice serves it on the tenant together with an order to vacate (article L411-1 of the CPCE). The eviction may then only take place after two months, unless the judge shortened or removed that delay. The tenant can ask the enforcement judge (juge de l'exécution) for further time, from one month to one year, when they cannot be rehoused in normal conditions.

Then comes the winter truce (trêve hivernale): no eviction from 1 November to 31 March of the following year, unless housing suited to the family is available. The procedure itself goes on during the truce: you can go to court or have orders served. See France's winter eviction truce: a landlord's guide.

On the day, the commissaire de justice comes on a working day, between 6 am and 9 pm. If the tenant refuses to leave, they ask the prefect for police assistance (concours de la force publique). The prefect's silence for two months counts as a refusal (article R153-1 of the CPCE), and a refusal entitles you to compensation from the State. The full sequence is in Evicting a tenant in France: steps and real delays.

7. What a landlord must never do#

Change the locks, cut the water or electricity, enter the home or take out the tenant's furniture, even after months of arrears: Service-Public reminds landlords not to enter or touch the lock or the furniture before the commissaire de justice. Forcing an occupant out without the State's assistance is punished by three years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine (article 226-4-2 of the Criminal code). See Changing the locks on a tenant who doesn't pay.

Worked example: €750 a month, three months unpaid#

Rent of €700 plus €50 of charges, so €750 a month, lease signed in 2025 with a guarantor. The tenant stops paying from February 2027. The hearing and judgment dates below are assumptions: they depend on the court.

Date	Step	Debt
1 February 2027	First rent unpaid; you check the account	€750
10 February 2027	Friendly reminder; the guarantor is told	€750
3 March 2027	Formal notice by registered letter	€1,500
15 April 2027	Commandement de payer; reported to the CCAPEX	€2,250
30 April 2027	Last day to serve the commandement on the guarantor	€2,250
27 May 2027	Six weeks over, debt unpaid	€2,250 and rising
1 June 2027	Summons, notified to the prefect the same day
13 July 2027	Earliest possible hearing (six weeks)
15 September 2027 (assumption)	Judgment: lease ended, eviction ordered
1 October 2027	Order to vacate
1 December 2027	Two months over, but in the middle of the truce
1 April 2028	Earliest possible eviction

In this scenario, with no extra time granted by the judge, 14 months pass between the first missed rent and the earliest possible eviction. The debt of €2,250 is under €5,000: according to Service-Public, a conciliation attempt had to come before the summons, somewhere between March and May. Every week saved at the start counts, which is why the first month matters.

Getting help#

The SOS loyers impayés line (0 805 160 075, free, Monday to Friday, in French) informs landlords and tenants alike. The local ADIL (Agence départementale d'information sur le logement), found through ANIL, gives free legal advice on housing.

Sources#

• Article 24 of law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (Légifrance, in French)
• Articles L412-1 to L412-8 of the Code of civil enforcement (Légifrance, in French)
• Cour de cassation, 3rd civil chamber, opinion of 13 June 2024, no. 24-70.002 (Légifrance, in French)
• Article 226-4-2 of the Criminal code (Légifrance, in French)
• Unpaid rent and eviction of the tenant, Service-Public (in French)
• Articles R824-2 to R824-5 of the CCH in force from 1 January 2027 (Légifrance, in French)

Last checked on 9 November 2026