Commercial lease in France: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

What a commercial lease is under French law A commercial lease in France, a bail commercial, is far more regulated than a service agreement or an NDA. It is governed by the statut des baux commerciaux in the Code de commerce (articles L145-1 and following), a protective regime built for tenants who run a business from the premises. Much of it is public policy, which means the parties cannot contract out of the core protections even if both sides agree. A generic lease that ignores this regime is not just weak; parts of it will be unenforceable. The regime applies where a tenant runs a commercial, industrial or artisanal business from the premises and is registered accordingly. If it applies, the tenant gets strong rights whatever the lease says. ## The core rules that shape every French commercial lease The 3-6-9 structure. A commercial lease has a minimum term of nine years. The tenant can usually end it at the close of each three-year period by giving notice, which is why these leases are called baux 3-6-9. The landlord cannot break at each three-year point in the same way. Parties can agree a firm longer term in some cases, but the nine-year floor and the tenant's triennial exit are the default. The right to renewal (propriete commerciale). This is the heart of the regime. At the end of the lease the tenant has a right to renewal. If the landlord refuses renewal, the landlord must generally pay an eviction indemnity (indemnite d'eviction) under article L145-14, compensating the tenant for the loss of business goodwill, moving and re-establishment costs and related harm. The indemnity is meant to make the tenant whole, so refusing renewal is expensive for the landlord. Limited exceptions allow refusal without indemnity, for example for a serious and legitimate breach after proper formal notice, or where the building must be demolished. Rent and indexation. Rent is freely agreed at the start. Indexation usually follows a published index, the ILC (indice des loyers commerciaux) for most retail and commercial activity or the ILAT for office and tertiary use. At renewal, rent is in principle capped to the change in the relevant index, with exceptions where the local commercial factors have changed materially. Charges and works (the Pinel reforms). The loi Pinel of 2014 requires an itemised schedule of charges, taxes and works split between landlord and tenant, and it bars the landlord from passing certain big-ticket items (such as major structural works under article 606 of the Code civil) to the tenant. An inventory of fixtures (etat des lieux) at entry and exit is required. Form and deposit. A written lease is standard. A security deposit is common, usually a few months of rent; if it exceeds two terms of rent paid in advance it bears interest. The short derogatory lease (bail derogatoire). Not every occupation needs the full regime. Parties can agree a short lease outside the statut, a bail derogatoire, for a total of up to three years. It is useful for testing a location, but once the tenant stays past the cap with the landlord's knowledge, a full nine-year commercial lease arises by operation of law. Treat the short lease as a genuine trial, not a way to escape the regime permanently, because the conversion is automatic. ## A usable template Adapt to your facts and have a French avocat or notaire review it, because the statutory regime is detailed. BAIL COMMERCIAL / COMMERCIAL LEASE 1. Parties. [Landlord] and [Tenant], legal forms, registered offices, SIREN. 2. Premises. [Address, description, surface area, permitted use (destination)]. 3. Destination. The premises may be used only for [the agreed activity]. Any change of use follows the statutory despecialisation procedure. 4. Term. Nine years from [date]. The Tenant may terminate at the end of each three-year period on at least six months' notice by the required means. 5. Rent. [Amount] per [period], payable [in advance/arrears]. Indexed annually to the [ILC/ILAT] index, base [reference]. 6. Charges, taxes and works. Schedule attached, splitting items between Landlord and Tenant. The Landlord bears article 606 major structural works. [Attach the Pinel inventory.] 7. Deposit. [Amount, interest terms if above two rental terms]. 8. Inventory of fixtures. An etat des lieux is drawn up at entry and exit. 9. Renewal and indemnity. At the end of the lease the Tenant has the statutory right to renewal; refusal by the Landlord gives rise to an eviction indemnity except in the cases allowed by law. 10. Assignment and subletting. [Rules; a clause barring assignment to a buyer of the tenant's business is void.] 11. Governing law and jurisdiction. French law. Courts of [city]. Signatures, dated. ## A short walk through the key clauses Destination sets what the tenant may do. Too narrow and the tenant is stuck; too wide and the landlord loses control. Changing use later follows a statutory despecialisation route, so get it right at the start. Renewal and indemnity cannot be bargained away. A lease that pretends the tenant has no renewal right, or no indemnity on refusal, is contradicting public policy. Charges and works are where the Pinel schedule matters. Without the itemised split, the landlord cannot simply dump every cost on the tenant. ## Red flags to check before signing - A term shorter than nine years dressed up as a standard lease, when a true derogatory short lease (bail derogatoire) has its own limited rules.

• A clause trying to remove the renewal right or the eviction indemnity. These are void.
• Major structural (article 606) works pushed onto the tenant.
• No Pinel charges schedule and no etat des lieux.
• An assignment clause that blocks selling the lease together with the business, which the law does not allow. ## Keeping the lease under control after signing A French commercial lease carries dates and duties that run for years: the triennial break windows, the renewal deadline, annual indexation on the right index, and the charges split. Miss a notice window and you can lose a break right or a renewal. Drafting a bail commercial that respects the statutory regime, checking that no clause tries to remove the renewal right or push article 606 works onto the tenant, and tracking the break dates, indexation and renewal deadline can sit in one AI workspace tuned to how your company leases space. Adira is built around that idea: it drafts from a template, models the lease as linked clauses so it can flag a void clause or a missing Pinel schedule, and keeps the key dates and obligations in one place. Adira is India-first today, with jurisdictions set per contract and an international mode for others; deep, verified coverage of the French commercial lease regime is on its roadmap rather than established, so treat France specific output as a draft for a French lawyer or notaire to confirm. This page is general information, not legal advice. The statut des baux commerciaux is detailed and changes, so confirm the current rules for your situation.