Evicting a tenant in France: steps and real delays

To evict a tenant in France you need a court decision and a commandement de quitter les lieux (order to vacate) served by a commissaire de justice, the court enforcement officer formerly called huissier (article L411-1 of the civil enforcement code, CPCE). The eviction can then only take place once two months have passed after that order (art. L412-1), never during the winter truce, from 1 November to 31 March of the following year, and only by the commissaire de justice, with police assistance if the tenant refuses to leave.

This guide is part of our series Unpaid rent in France: what to do, step by step. It starts at the judgment; what comes before (the formal demand to pay, the termination clause, the hearing) is in The commandement de payer: delay, cost, content and The lease termination clause: when does it apply?.

The steps at a glance#

Step	Minimum delay	Text
Judgment terminating the lease and ordering eviction	—	CPCE, art. L411-1
Service of the judgment and order to vacate	—	CPCE, art. L411-1
Prefect informed by the commissaire de justice	from the order to vacate	CPCE, art. L412-5
Time to leave	two months (the judge may shorten or remove it)	CPCE, art. L412-1
Extension for exceptional hardship	at most three months	CPCE, art. L412-2
Enforcement judge's delays	one month to one year	CPCE, art. L412-3 and L412-4
Winter truce	from 1 November to 31 March of the following year	CPCE, art. L412-6
Prefect's answer to the police request	two months of silence = refusal	CPCE, art. R153-1

1. The judgment and the order to vacate#

Once the lease is terminated, the tenant becomes an occupant sans droit ni titre (without right or title): they no longer owe rent but an indemnité d'occupation (occupancy fee) set by the judge, until they leave (Service-Public).

You then instruct a commissaire de justice to serve the judgment and the order to vacate. According to Service-Public, that order states, among other things, the enforceable title, the judge to approach for more time, the date by which the home must be vacated, and reproduces articles L412-1 to L412-6 of the code.

From the order on, the commissaire de justice refers the case to the prefect, who informs the eviction-prevention commission (CCAPEX). If they fail to, the period before which the eviction cannot take place is suspended (art. L412-5).

2. The time to leave#

The base period is two months after the order. It can move either way:

• the judge may shorten or remove it, and it does not apply when the judge who orders the eviction finds the occupant acted in bad faith;
• it can be extended by at most three months where the eviction would be exceptionally harsh, for instance because of the season (art. L412-2);
• the juge de l'exécution (enforcement judge) can grant renewable delays when the household cannot be rehoused in normal conditions, from one month to one year (art. L412-3 and L412-4). The judge weighs the occupant's good or bad will, age, health, each side's situation and the steps taken to find housing. These delays are excluded for a tenant in bad faith.

Then comes the winter truce: any eviction not carried out by 1 November waits until 31 March, unless rehousing is secured (art. L412-6). See France's winter eviction truce: a landlord's guide.

3. Eviction day#

According to Service-Public, the commissaire de justice comes on a working day, between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. They may warn the occupant but do not have to.

• The occupant leaves: the commissaire de justice draws up an eviction report. Belongings left behind go to storage at the evicted person's expense; they have two months to collect them.
• The occupant refuses to open or is absent: the commissaire de justice draws up a report of attempted eviction and can ask the prefect for police assistance (concours de la force publique).

An occupant who stays more than two months after a valid order to vacate risks a €7,500 fine, except during the winter truce or while delays from the enforcement judge are running (criminal code, art. 315-2).

4. Police assistance, and the prefect's refusal#

The State must assist in enforcing judgments, and its refusal gives a right to compensation (art. L153-1). A refusal must state its reasons, and no answer within two months counts as a refusal (art. R153-1).

To be compensated, Service-Public says to write to the prefect by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, with evidence of the loss (lost rent and charges, commissaire de justice fees, repairs and so on). A refusal given while the occupant is protected by the winter truce can only be compensated for the period that follows.

A worked timeline#

Event	Date
Order to vacate served	1 March 2027
End of the two months (outside the truce)	1 May 2027
Eviction attempted, occupant refuses	10 May 2027
Police assistance requested from the prefect	12 May 2027
No answer, refusal deemed given	12 July 2027

From that refusal, you can ask the State for compensation. Had the same order been served on 1 October, the two months would have ended on 1 December, in the middle of the truce, and the eviction would have waited until 1 April.

Sources#

• Article L411-1 of the civil enforcement code (Légifrance, in French)
• Articles L412-1 to L412-8 of the civil enforcement code (Légifrance, in French)
• Articles L153-1 and R153-1 of the civil enforcement code, police assistance (Légifrance, in French)
• Article 315-2 of the criminal code (Légifrance, in French)
• Unpaid rent and eviction of the tenant, Service-Public (in French)

Last checked on 9 November 2026