Tenant in over-indebtedness in France: what changes

When the over-indebtedness commission (commission de surendettement) finds your tenant's file admissible, enforcement against the tenant's property is suspended, for two years at most, and the tenant may no longer pay you the arrears that arose before that decision (articles L722-2 to L722-5 of the Consumer code). The debt is not wiped out for all that: it is dealt with inside the procedure. Current rent is still owed, your guarantor remains liable for the arrears, and the lease judge applies specific rules (article 24 of the law of 6 July 1989).

This guide is part of our series Unpaid rent in France: what to do, step by step.

What admissibility changes#

The admissibility decision (recevabilité) is when the commission agrees to examine the file. It has three effects for you:

Effect	Duration	Text
Enforcement against the tenant's property suspended and forbidden	Until the plan or the measures, two years at most	Consumer code, art. L722-2 and L722-3
Tenant forbidden to pay, even partly, a non-maintenance debt that arose before the suspension, or to repay a guarantor who paid it	Same duration	Consumer code, art. L722-5
Eviction from the home may be suspended, by the judge	Two years at most, until the plan or the measures	Consumer code, art. L722-6 to L722-9

A tenant who offers to clear the old arrears after admissibility is therefore no longer allowed to. As we read it, talk to the commission before accepting such a payment.

The eviction can be suspended#

From admissibility, the commission can ask the juge des contentieux de la protection (the local judge for tenancy and consumer disputes) to suspend eviction from the home. In an emergency, the commission's chair, their delegate, the local Banque de France representative or the tenant can apply. If the tenant's situation requires it, the judge orders a provisional suspension, for two years at most and until the plan or measures decided for the tenant.

If an eviction is already under way, see Evicting a tenant in France: steps and real delays for the delays that run alongside.

What the lease judge does#

When you ask the judge to confirm the termination clause, the judge asks the parties to report any over-indebtedness procedure. If one is open and the tenant has resumed paying rent and charges on the day of the hearing, article 24 sets precise rules:

Stage of the over-indebtedness file	What the judge grants
File admissible, no plan yet	Payment delays until the plan, the imposed measures or the closing of the procedure
Plan approved or measures imposed	The payment delays and terms for the rent debt set out in the plan or measures
Personal recovery (rétablissement personnel, debt write-off)	Suspension of the termination clause's effects for two years

In every case, if the tenant keeps to the delays, or pays rent and charges throughout the two years after a personal recovery, the termination clause is deemed never to have applied. Otherwise it takes full effect again. Outside over-indebtedness, the judge may grant payment delays of up to three years; the over-indebtedness procedure imposes its own timetable.

Current rent is still owed#

Delays granted by the judge never suspend payment of the current rent and charges: article 24 says so expressly. As we read it, rent falling due after the admissibility decision is not a debt "born earlier" and so is not caught by the ban on payment in article L722-5: the tenant must keep paying it, and you can claim it like any rent.

And the guarantor?#

Service-Public is clear: even if the tenant has filed for over-indebtedness, the guarantor (caution) still owes the arrears already incurred. The Civil code (article 2298) provides that a guarantor cannot rely on the legal or judicial measures the debtor obtains because of their default, unless a specific text says otherwise. Remember that the commandement de payer must be served on the guarantor within fifteen days of the tenant's. Details are in Commandement de payer: deadline, content and cost.

What the landlord should do#

• Answer the commission if it writes to you, with a dated statement, month by month.
• Keep the tenant's account in two parts: the arrears from before admissibility on one side, the rents due since on the other.
• Claim the current rent and, if it stops being paid, review next steps with a commissaire de justice (court enforcement officer): new arrears are still arrears.
• Call on the guarantor for the old arrears, preferably by registered letter.
• Keep every document: reminders, formal notices, commandements. The judge and the commission work from dates.

Example#

Rent of €750 including charges. The tenant owes €2,250 (February to April 2027) when the file is declared admissible. From then on, the tenant cannot repay those €2,250 outside the procedure, and seizing the tenant's property for that debt is suspended. May 2027's rent, however, is due as normal. If the tenant pays it, and the following ones, the judge who finds the termination clause acquired must grant delays aligned with the over-indebtedness procedure (article 24, VI); if not, as we read it, the new arrears can be claimed like any rent. Either way, the guarantor remains liable for the €2,250.

Sources#

• Articles L722-2 to L722-16 of the Consumer code, effects of admissibility (Légifrance, in French)
• Article 24 of law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (Légifrance, in French)
• Articles 2288 to 2320 of the Civil code, guarantees (Légifrance, in French)
• The tenant's guarantor in a private home, Service-Public (in French)

Last checked on 9 November 2026