Evicting an occupier without right or title: summary proceedings in 2026

The occupation of a property by a person who no longer has, or never had, any title to remain there places the owner in a situation of economic and legal urgency. A landlord whose tenant has left without handing back the keys to a third party, a buyer who discovers after the sale that the premises are not vacant, an owner whose home has been taken over in his absence: in each of these cases, summary proceedings (référé) make it possible to obtain an eviction order without waiting for a trial on the merits lasting several months. This procedure must not, however, be confused with the eviction of a tenant, which is governed by very different rules. This guide sets out the legal basis for summary eviction proceedings against an occupier without right or title (occupant sans droit ni titre), the court to which the matter must be referred in 2026, the content of the writ of summons, the time limits for enforcement and the specific features of commercial premises.

Occupier without right or title: who exactly is concerned

The concept of an occupier without right or title refers to any person who remains in a property without having a contract, an authorisation or a court decision that would legitimise his presence. It stands in direct contrast to that of a tenant, who benefits from a lease and therefore from a right of occupation enforceable against the owner.

This distinction governs the entire procedural strategy. Evicting a tenant during the term of the lease first requires the contract to be brought to an end: enforcement of a termination clause (clause résolutoire) after an order to pay has remained unsuccessful, judicial termination for breach, or a notice to quit served in the legal form. As long as the lease has not been extinguished, no eviction is possible. The occupier without right or title, on the other hand, has no contract to be brought down: his remaining in the premises in itself constitutes an infringement of the right of ownership. The procedure that a landlord must follow to evict a tenant responsible for neighbour nuisance is set out in our article on that situation.

In practice, three situations come up regularly.

• Squatting, that is to say entry into premises by unlawful force (voie de fait), without the owner's consent. The person has entered by breaking in or by deception and remains there.
• The former tenant who stays in the premises. The lease has ended (termination has taken effect, a valid notice to quit has expired) but the occupier refuses to leave. As soon as the contract is extinguished, he loses his title and becomes an occupier without right or title.
• The occupier present after a sale. The buyer takes possession of a property he believed to be vacant and discovers an occupier without an enforceable lease. A lease entered into by the seller, if it exists and meets the formal requirements, is in principle enforceable against the new owner; failing a title, the occupier may be evicted.

Why summary proceedings, and on what legal basis

Summary proceedings are a fast procedure that makes it possible to obtain from the court a provisional but immediately enforceable decision. For eviction, they rest mainly on Article 835, paragraph 1, of the French Code of Civil Procedure, which authorises the judge hearing summary applications to order the protective measures or measures to restore the previous situation needed to put an end to a manifestly unlawful disturbance.

"The president of the judicial court or the judge for protection disputes, within the limits of his jurisdiction, may always, even where there is a serious dispute, order in summary proceedings such protective measures or measures to restore the previous situation as are required, either to prevent imminent damage or to put an end to a manifestly unlawful disturbance." (Article 835, paragraph 1, of the French Code of Civil Procedure)

Occupying a property without right or title is precisely a manifestly unlawful disturbance: it infringes the right of ownership, guaranteed by Article 544 of the French Civil Code and by Article 17 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The owner therefore does not have to show any particular urgency, which distinguishes this basis from summary proceedings under Article 834 of the French Code of Civil Procedure.

The decisive limit: the absence of a serious dispute

The judge hearing summary applications rules on what is self-evident. He may order eviction where the absence of title is indisputable. On the other hand, if the occupier produces a serious element capable of constituting a title, for example a lease whose validity he asserts, a promise to sell, or a reasoned challenge to a notice to quit, the matter falls to the court hearing the merits (juge du fond).

This is the central point of vigilance. A former commercial tenant who challenges the validity of the notice to quit and claims eviction compensation (indemnité d'éviction) often raises a serious dispute that deprives the judge hearing summary applications of his power. The owner must then bring the matter before the court hearing the merits, even if this means applying for provisional measures. Anticipating this difficulty determines the choice of procedure.

Which court to apply to in 2026

The competent court depends on the use of the property.

For a building used as a dwelling, the judge for protection disputes (juge des contentieux de la protection, JCP) has jurisdiction. Article L213-4-3 of the French Code of Judicial Organisation entrusts to that judge actions seeking the eviction of persons occupying built property for residential purposes without right or title. This judge, attached to the judicial court (tribunal judiciaire), also rules in summary proceedings.

For commercial, professional or agricultural premises or for land, jurisdiction lies with the president of the judicial court ruling in summary proceedings.

Territorially, the competent court is that of the place where the property is located. This rule, specific to real property actions, cannot be varied by agreement in this type of litigation.

The writ of summons in summary eviction proceedings: building a solid case

The writ of summons in summary eviction proceedings is the document instituting proceedings served on the occupier by a commissaire de justice (bailiff). Since the merger of the professions of huissier de justice and commissaire-priseur judiciaire on 1 July 2022, it is the commissaire de justice who carries out official reports, service of documents and enforcement of decisions.

Recording the occupation before acting

First of all, the owner should have an official report (procès-verbal de constat) drawn up by a commissaire de justice. This document describes the condition of the premises, the apparent identity of the occupiers where known, and the reality of the occupation. It constitutes evidence that is difficult to challenge before the court.

Identifying the occupiers is often a problem, particularly in the case of squatting. The writ of summons may be served on a named person where the identity is known, or may be directed at occupiers whose identity is unknown. Case law accepts that the action may be brought against the occupiers of given premises without naming them individually, provided that steps to identify them have been taken.

The content of the writ

The writ of summons must set out the facts, the legal basis of the claim and the precise subject matter of the claims. A well-built case generally seeks:

• the eviction of the occupier and of any person occupying through him, if necessary with the assistance of the police and a locksmith;
• the setting of an occupation indemnity (indemnité d'occupation) corresponding to the rental value of the premises, due for the period of unlawful occupation until the premises are actually vacated;
• a penalty payment (astreinte) per day of delay intended to compel the occupier to leave;
• the removal of the two-month period and, where applicable, the disapplication of the winter truce (trêve hivernale) where the legal conditions are met;
• reimbursement of the costs incurred, in particular the official report and procedural costs.

The documents to be gathered

The owner must prove his title: title deed, notarial certificate, or for a landlord the previous lease and its termination. He attaches the official report, proof that the occupier has no title, and any exchange of letters giving formal notice to leave the premises. For a former tenant, the decision or document that ended the lease is decisive, since it is what turns the tenant into an occupier without right or title.

The specific case of squatting: an accelerated administrative route

Following several successive reforms, squatting is subject to special treatment that coexists with the judicial route. Law No. 2023-668 of 27 July 2023 aimed at protecting housing against unlawful occupation, known as the anti-squat law, has strengthened the available tools.

Under criminal law, Article 226-4 of the French Criminal Code punishes entering and remaining in another person's home by means of manoeuvres, threats, unlawful force or constraint, the penalty now being increased to three years' imprisonment and a fine of €45,000. The 2023 law also created Article 315-1 of the French Criminal Code, which penalises the fraudulent occupation of premises used for residential or economic purposes other than the home, punishable by two years' imprisonment and a fine of €30,000.

On the administrative side, Article 38 of Law No. 2007-290 of 5 March 2007 establishing the enforceable right to housing (DALO law) provides for a forced removal procedure without a court. The owner, or the person whose home is occupied, may ask the prefect (préfet) to give the occupiers formal notice to leave the premises, on proof of the right of ownership, of a criminal complaint having been filed and of an official report of unlawful occupation. Once the period set in the formal notice has expired, the removal may be carried out by the police. The 2023 law extended and accelerated this procedure. The steps and time limits of the accelerated procedure for evicting a squatter under the anti-squat law are set out in our dedicated article.

An individual whose residence is occupied should therefore go immediately to the police station to file a complaint and request the prefectoral procedure, which is often faster than summary proceedings where the conditions are met. Summary proceedings remain the ordinary legal route for all other cases, and the necessary complement where the administrative route is closed.

The order and its enforcement: the most delicate stage

Obtaining the eviction order is only one step. Enforcement is governed by rules that protect the occupier, codified in Book IV of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures.

The order to vacate the premises

Once the order has been served, the commissaire de justice serves an order to vacate the premises (commandement de quitter les lieux). This document marks the starting point of the enforcement periods.

The two-month period and its exceptions

Article L412-1 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures provides that eviction may only take place on expiry of a period of two months after the order to vacate the premises. This period is intended to give the occupier time to find new accommodation.

This period does not apply where the occupiers entered the premises by unlawful force, that is to say squatters, nor where the court, by a specific reasoned decision, decides to remove it. The distinction between the former tenant, who initially occupied lawfully, and the squatter, who broke in, is of full importance here: the former in principle benefits from the period, the latter may be deprived of it.

The winter truce

Article L412-6 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures suspends evictions from 1 November to 31 March, the period known as the winter truce. An eviction cannot then be carried out by force, unless the occupier is rehoused in suitable accommodation.

This protection is, however, subject to a major exception for squatters. The court may, by reasoned decision, exclude the benefit of the winter truce for persons who entered the premises by unlawful force. The owner of a squatted property should therefore expressly request this measure in the writ of summons.

The time limits the court may grant

Conversely, Articles L412-3 and L412-4 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures allow the court to grant the occupier periods of up to three years, having regard to his situation, in particular where he cannot be rehoused under normal conditions. These periods do not benefit persons who entered by unlawful force. The court assesses each case individually, which sometimes makes the outcome of enforcement uncertain for a former tenant acting in good faith who has remained in the premises.

Police assistance

Eviction most often requires the intervention of the police, requested from the prefect. If the prefect refuses assistance or remains silent for two months, that decision gives rise to the liability of the State, which must then compensate the owner for the loss resulting from the impossibility of enforcing the decision. This compensation does not replace the vacating of the premises, but it compensates for the loss of enjoyment. On the conditions for compensation of the landlord by the State where police assistance is refused, see our analysis of this remedy.

The specific features of commercial leases

The commercial landlord is particularly exposed to the risk of a serious dispute mentioned above. The commercial lease regime, governed by Articles L145-1 et seq. of the French Commercial Code, gives the tenant a right to renewal and, in the event of refusal, eviction compensation.

A commercial tenant who remains after a notice to quit without an offer of renewal does not automatically become an occupier without right or title who can be evicted in summary proceedings. Until the eviction compensation has been set and paid, he in principle benefits from a right to remain in the premises provided for by the French Commercial Code. Summary eviction proceedings are then only available in specific situations, for example where the landlord exercised his right of withdrawal (droit de repentir) late or where the tenant does not actually dispute anything.

On the other hand, where the commercial lease has been terminated through a properly implemented termination clause, or where the notice to quit has taken effect without the tenant having a right to remain, the former tenant who stays on becomes an occupier without right or title. Summary proceedings then regain their full effectiveness, with an occupation indemnity set by reference to the rental value, often increased to reflect the unlawful nature of the occupation.

The interaction between the protective commercial lease regime and summary eviction proceedings is thus a decisive technical point: a poorly drafted notice to quit or a poorly implemented termination clause is enough to cause the fast-track procedure to fail and to send the dispute back to the court hearing the merits.

Conclusion

Summary eviction proceedings are not an accelerated variant of the eviction of a tenant: they are a separate procedure, reserved for situations in which the occupier's lack of title is manifest and indisputable. Their strength lies in their speed and in their basis, the manifestly unlawful disturbance, which dispenses with the need to prove urgency. Their weakness lies in their natural limit, the serious dispute, which immediately closes the door to summary proceedings as soon as the occupier relies on any semblance of title.

The right strategy rests on three reflexes. Characterise the situation precisely at the outset, because a squatter, a former residential tenant and a former commercial tenant are not subject to the same rules on time limits and the winter truce. Secure the evidence with an official report by a commissaire de justice before any writ of summons. Anticipate enforcement, from the drafting of the writ of summons, by expressly requesting the occupation indemnity, the penalty payment and, for squatting, the removal of the two-month period and the exclusion of the winter truce.

Before issuing a writ of summons in summary eviction proceedings, have the situation characterised by a professional: the boundary between the occupier who can be evicted in summary proceedings and the one who falls to the court hearing the merits alone determines the success and the timetable of the procedure.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between evicting a tenant and evicting an occupier without right or title? The tenant has a lease, and therefore a title: the contract must first be brought to an end (termination clause, judicial termination, notice to quit) before eviction can be considered. The occupier without right or title has no contract to be extinguished; his remaining in the premises in itself constitutes a manifestly unlawful disturbance justifying summary proceedings on the basis of Article 835 of the French Code of Civil Procedure.

Which court has jurisdiction for summary eviction proceedings in 2026? For a building used as a dwelling, the judge for protection disputes (JCP), under Article L213-4-3 of the French Code of Judicial Organisation. For commercial or professional premises or land, the president of the judicial court ruling in summary proceedings. In all cases, the competent court is that of the place where the property is located.

Does the winter truce apply to squatters? In principle, no eviction is carried out from 1 November to 31 March (Article L412-6 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures). However, the court may, by reasoned decision, exclude this protection for persons who entered the premises by unlawful force. This measure must therefore be expressly requested in the writ of summons.

How long do summary eviction proceedings take? Summary proceedings are faster than a trial on the merits, but the time taken varies according to the court's workload and the complexity of the case. In addition to the order, there is the two-month period after the order to vacate the premises (except for squatting), a possible winter truce, then the time needed to obtain police assistance. Full enforcement may therefore extend well beyond the hearing itself.

Can a former commercial tenant who remains in the premises be evicted in summary proceedings? It depends on how the lease ended. If the lease has been validly terminated and the tenant has no right to remain, he becomes an occupier without right or title who can be evicted in summary proceedings. On the other hand, until the eviction compensation has been set and paid following a refusal to renew, he benefits from a right to remain which raises a serious dispute and sends the matter to the court hearing the merits.

Can an occupation indemnity be obtained at the same time as the eviction? Yes. The judge hearing summary applications may set an occupation indemnity corresponding to the rental value of the premises, due for the whole period of unlawful occupation until the premises are actually vacated, together with a penalty payment per day of delay. These claims must be included in the writ of summons in order to be examined.

What can be done if the prefect refuses to grant police assistance? An express refusal or silence for two months gives rise to the liability of the State, which must compensate the owner for the loss resulting from the impossibility of enforcing the eviction decision. This compensation does not free the premises but compensates for the loss of enjoyment, pending the actual granting of assistance.