France's winter eviction truce: a landlord's guide

During the trêve hivernale (winter truce), from 1 November to 31 March of the following year, no forced eviction of a tenant can be carried out in France, even with a final judgment, unless the household's rehousing is secured on adequate terms. The rule is article L412-6 of the French civil enforcement code (CPCE). But the truce only freezes enforcement: rent is still owed, and you can keep the procedure moving (formal demand, court, judgment) so that you are ready on 1 April.

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

What the truce blocks, and what it does not#

During the truce, you can	During the truce, you cannot
Send reminders and a mise en demeure (formal notice)	Have the tenant removed with police assistance
Have a commissaire de justice (court enforcement officer, formerly huissier) serve a commandement de payer (formal demand to pay)	Change the lock, enter the home, remove the furniture
Sue the tenant and obtain a judgment, even in summary proceedings	Cut off water, gas or electricity
Have the judgment served with a commandement de quitter les lieux (order to vacate)	Treat the debt as paused: it keeps growing

The code says any eviction not yet carried out is suspended between those dates, even when the eviction order is passée en force de chose jugée, meaning no appeal against it remains possible. Service-Public, the French government's information site, adds that the landlord may go to the juge des contentieux de la protection (the local housing judge) during the truce, including in référé (summary proceedings), and that the eviction ordered takes effect as soon as the truce ends.

The exceptions#

The truce does not apply in some cases, which Service-Public lists in its 2026-2027 winter truce update:

• the occupant's rehousing is secured on terms that respect the family's unity and needs;
• the home is in a building under a safety order (arrêté de mise en sécurité);
• squatters who entered someone else's home by deception, threats, assault or coercion (for a garage or plot occupied that way, the judge may remove or shorten the truce).

For an actual tenant who stopped paying, the exception that matters in practice is the first one: suitable rehousing. Without it, the eviction waits until 1 April.

Water, gas and electricity cut-offs: forbidden#

ANIL (Agence nationale pour l'information sur le logement, the national housing information agency) states that during the truce the law forbids landlords to suspend electricity, gas or water in their lettings, and that the tenant can file a complaint. It adds that trying to force the tenant out during the truce is a criminal offence.

The French criminal code punishes forcing someone out of the place they live in without the State's assistance, through deception, threats, assault or coercion, with three years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine (article 226-4-2). That rule applies all year round; we cover it in Changing the locks on a tenant who doesn't pay.

Example: an order to vacate served in the autumn#

The judgment terminated the lease and ordered the eviction. The commissaire de justice serves the order to vacate on 1 October 2027.

Step	Date	Rule
Commandement de quitter les lieux	1 October 2027	Served by a commissaire de justice
End of the two months	1 December 2027	CPCE, art. L412-1
Winter truce	1 November 2027 to 31 March 2028	CPCE, art. L412-6
Forced eviction possible	from 1 April 2028	unless rehousing is secured

The two-month period ends in the middle of the truce: the eviction cannot be carried out before 1 April 2028, barring an exception. And that is a minimum. The judge may have shortened or removed the two months, but may also extend them by at most three months where the eviction would be exceptionally harsh (art. L412-2), and the juge de l'exécution (enforcement judge) can grant one month to one year when the household cannot be rehoused in normal conditions (art. L412-3 and L412-4).

Getting ready for 1 April#

• Keep the case moving over the winter. Formal demand to pay, summons, judgment, order to vacate: each can happen between November and March. The delays are in Evicting a tenant in France: steps and real delays.
• Keep the statement of account up to date. Once the lease is terminated, the occupant owes an indemnité d'occupation (occupancy fee set by the judge) instead of rent: record every payment.
• Stay in touch with the commissaire de justice. They ask the prefect for police assistance if needed; if the prefect does not answer within two months, that counts as a refusal and opens a right to compensation (CPCE, art. R153-1).
• Take no action on the home yourself. No lock change, no cut-off, no visit without the tenant's consent.

Sources#

• Article L412-6 of the civil enforcement code, winter truce (Légifrance, in French)
• Articles L412-1 and L412-2 of the civil enforcement code, the two-month period (Légifrance, in French)
• When does the winter truce apply?, Service-Public (in French)
• Winter truce 2026-2027, Service-Public (in French)
• What is the winter truce?, ANIL (in French)
• Article 226-4-2 of the criminal code (Légifrance, in French)

Last checked on 9 November 2026