Tenant eviction: complete procedure 2026

Faced with a tenant who no longer pays rent or who fails to comply with their obligations, many landlords find themselves at a loss. Evicting a tenant is often their last resort, but the procedure remains complex and governed by strict rules. Between the time limits to be observed, the mandatory steps and the protections granted to tenants, it is easy to make mistakes that can considerably prolong the procedure. This practical guide takes you step by step through the eviction procedure, giving you the keys to act effectively while complying with the law.

The legal grounds for evicting a tenant

Non-payment of rent and service charges

Non-payment is the most frequent ground for eviction. It concerns not only the principal rent, but also service charges, advance payments on charges and all ancillary items of rent. From the first day of delay, you are entitled to start proceedings, even for a small amount.

Case law considers that even a debt of one euro may justify an eviction, provided the procedure is complied with. However, the courts often assess the proportionality between the amount owed and the sanction sought.

Nuisance and breaches of the lease

Nuisance covers various situations in which the tenant disturbs the peace of the neighbourhood: repeated noise, aggressive behaviour, deliberate damage to common parts. These breaches must be established and documented in order to justify an eviction. How such a breach is established and the steps of the procedure brought by the landlord are detailed in our article on evicting a tenant for neighbourhood disturbance.

Breaches of contractual clauses may also justify an eviction: unauthorised subletting, housing undeclared persons, carrying on a commercial activity in residential premises, or failure to hold home insurance.

Absence of home insurance

The obligation to hold home insurance, provided for by law, is a specific ground for eviction. The tenant must provide evidence of this insurance when the keys are handed over, and then every year at the landlord's request.

Formal notice: the first mandatory step

The order to pay for unpaid rent

For unpaid rent, the eviction procedure begins with an order to pay (commandement de payer) referring to the termination clause (clause résolutoire), served by a commissaire de justice (bailiff). Under Article 24 of Law No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989, the clause takes effect only six weeks after an order to pay that has remained unsuccessful. On pain of nullity, the order states that six-week period, the monthly amount of rent and charges, the statement of the debt, the warning that, failing payment or an application for time to pay, the tenant is exposed to termination and eviction proceedings, the possibility of applying to the housing solidarity fund (fonds de solidarité pour le logement) and that of asking the court for a grace period on the basis of Article 1343-5 of the French Civil Code. Where the lease is secured by a guarantee, the order is served on the guarantor within fifteen days.

The order must be served on the tenant in person or, failing that, by the other methods of service provided for by the French Code of Civil Procedure, which the commissaire de justice implements.

Formal notice for other grounds

For breaches other than unpaid rent, you must send a formal notice by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. This formal notice must describe precisely the facts complained of and allow the tenant a reasonable period to put an end to the disturbance or remedy the breaches.

This period varies according to the nature of the breaches: fifteen days to stop nuisance, one month to take out home insurance, for example. Case law assesses the proportionality of this period according to the circumstances.

The mandatory content of the formal notice

Your formal notice must contain several items, on pain of nullity:

• Precise identification of the landlord and the tenant
• Reference to the lease and to the clauses not complied with
• A detailed description of the breaches observed
• The period allowed to remedy the situation
• A statement of the consequences in the event of failure to regularise

Bringing the matter before the judicial court

Time limits prior to the summons

A landlord relying on the termination clause for unpaid rent may have the termination recorded only after the six-week period following the order to pay has expired. Landlords that are legal entities, other than a société civile (civil company) formed exclusively between relatives and relatives by marriage up to the fourth degree inclusive, may moreover serve the summons, on pain of inadmissibility, only once a period of two months has elapsed following the referral to the commission for the coordination of actions to prevent evictions (commission de coordination des actions de prévention des expulsions locatives) (Article 24, II, of the Law of 6 July 1989).

These time limits are specific to termination based on a rent debt (Article 24, IV). For other breaches, the lease may provide for automatic termination only for failure to hold insurance, the clause then taking effect only one month after an order that has remained unsuccessful, for neighbourhood disturbance established by a court decision that has become final or, for certain dwellings, for failure to occupy the premises as a main residence (Articles 4 g and 7 g of the same law). Otherwise, the landlord asks the court to order judicial termination of the lease.

Building the file

Your file must be meticulously prepared and contain all the supporting documents:

• The tenancy agreement and any amendments
• Evidence of the breaches (letters, witness statements, reports by a commissaire de justice)
• Supporting documents for the sums claimed (rent receipts, statements of account)
• The formal notice or the order to pay
• Any item showing the persistence of the disturbance or of the non-payment

The summons for termination of the lease

The summons is the document initiating proceedings. It must be drafted with precision and contain your exact claims: termination of the lease, eviction of the tenant, an order to pay the sums owed, and damages for occupation without right or title. Where the occupier has never had any title, the summary proceedings route (référé) is set out in our article on evicting an occupier without right or title.

The commissaire de justice serves the summons on the tenant. Where the claim seeks a finding or an order of termination for a rent debt, the summons is notified, on pain of inadmissibility, to the State representative in the département at least six weeks before the hearing, so that a social and financial assessment can be carried out and forwarded to the court (Article 24, III and IV, of the Law of 6 July 1989).

The course of the court proceedings

The hearing before the judicial court

At the hearing, the judge examines your claim and hears the tenant's arguments. The tenant may put forward their defences: disputing the debt, applying for time to pay, the existence of disturbance of enjoyment for which you are responsible, the poor condition of the dwelling.

The judge may order a measure of inquiry (expert appraisal, social inquiry) if the facts are disputed or require in-depth investigation. This measure prolongs the procedure but allows the court to be informed on contentious points.

The tenant's possible defences

The tenant has several defences that may defeat your eviction claim. The tenant may in particular rely on the defence of non-performance (exception d'inexécution) if the dwelling has significant defects for which you are responsible. This defence suspends the tenant's obligations until you have remedied the problems.

Set-off between the sums owed and works for which you are responsible is also a frequent defence. The tenant may also claim damages for disturbance of enjoyment suffered because of the condition of the dwelling.

The judgment and its effects

If the court grants your claim, the judgment records or orders termination of the lease, orders the tenant's eviction and orders the tenant to pay the sums owed and an occupation indemnity. Eviction from inhabited premises may take place only once a period of two months has elapsed following the order to vacate the premises (Article L. 412-1 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures), and the judge may grant additional time where rehousing cannot take place in normal conditions (Articles L. 412-3 and L. 412-4).

The judgment is enforceable by operation of law on a provisional basis, unless the law or the decision provides otherwise (Article 514 of the French Code of Civil Procedure): an appeal by the tenant therefore does not, in principle, suspend enforcement of the decision.

Enforcement of the eviction judgment

The enforcement period and its exceptions

Once the judgment is enforceable and the order to vacate the premises has been served, eviction may take place only once a period of two months has elapsed (Article L. 412-1 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures). This period does not apply where the judge finds bad faith on the part of the person being evicted or where the occupiers entered the premises by means of manoeuvres, threats, assault or coercion; it may be extended by no more than three months in the event of consequences of exceptional hardship (Article L. 412-2). The judge may also grant renewable periods of between one month and one year, taking into account in particular the occupier's good or bad will and circumstances (Articles L. 412-3 and L. 412-4).

Any eviction measure not yet carried out is stayed from 1 November to 31 March of the following year (the winter truce, trêve hivernale), unless rehousing of the persons concerned is ensured in sufficient conditions. This stay does not apply where the eviction was ordered because of an entry into another person's home without right or title by means of manoeuvres, threats, assault or coercion (Article L. 412-6 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures).

The forced eviction procedure

If the tenant does not leave the premises voluntarily, you must call on a commissaire de justice to carry out the forced eviction. The commissaire de justice first serves an order to vacate the premises (Article L. 411-1 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures); in the case of inhabited premises, eviction may take place only once a period of two months has elapsed following that order, unless that period is reduced or removed in the cases provided for in Article L. 412-1.

After that period, the commissaire de justice may carry out the eviction with the assistance of the police if necessary. The fate of goods left on the premises is governed by Book IV of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures.

Recovery of debts

In parallel with the eviction, you may take recovery measures against the tenant's assets: attachment of earnings, attachment of bank accounts (saisie-attribution), seizure and sale of movable property (saisie-vente). These procedures are carried out by a commissaire de justice on presentation of the enforceable judgment.

Mistakes to avoid in the eviction procedure

Fatal formal defects

Certain formal errors can completely invalidate your procedure and force you to start again. Irregular service of documents, the absence of mandatory statements in the orders, or failure to observe the statutory time limits are fatal defects.

An imprecise formal notice, or one that does not allow a sufficient period, may also vitiate the procedure. Likewise, the summons must scrupulously comply with the legal formalities on pain of nullity.

Conduct to be avoided

You must never attempt to evict the tenant yourself: cutting off water or electricity, changing the locks, or applying any pressure is an offence punishable by fines and damages. Only the judicial route is permitted.

Accepting rent after the procedure has been started may be interpreted as a tacit waiver of the eviction. Be vigilant on this point and consult your lawyer before accepting any partial payment.

The importance of documentation

Systematically build a complete file from the first incidents. Photograph damage, keep all correspondence exchanged, and have reports drawn up by a commissaire de justice for nuisance. This documentation will be valuable before the court.

Keep a precise schedule of unpaid sums with the calculation of late-payment interest. Any approximation in your claims may weaken your case and delay the procedure. On the periods within which these sums may be claimed and the means of interrupting them, see our analysis of limitation periods for unpaid rent.

Prevention: anticipating difficulties

Rigorous tenant selection

Careful selection when the property is let is your first protection. Check income thoroughly, ask for solid guarantees and do not hesitate to obtain information on previous tenancies.

The security deposit and the joint guarantor (caution solidaire) remain your best safeguards. Make sure that the guarantor has sufficient and stable income to cope with any unpaid rent.

Drafting a protective lease

A well-drafted lease considerably facilitates proceedings in the event of difficulties. Provide for precise clauses on the tenant's obligations, the conditions of termination and the arrangements for returning the dwelling.

The termination clause may relate only to the breaches exhaustively permitted by law: non-payment of rent or charges, failure to pay the security deposit, failure to hold insurance, neighbourhood disturbance established by a court decision that has become final and, for dwellings subject to the obligation provided for in Article L. 151-14-1 of the French Town Planning Code, failure to occupy the premises as a main residence (Articles 4 g and 24 of the Law of 6 July 1989). Any other automatic termination clause is deemed not written.

Regular monitoring of the tenancy

Maintain regular contact with your tenants and act quickly at the first unpaid rent or breach. A rapid response often makes it possible to resolve difficulties amicably and avoid a long and costly procedure.

Do not hesitate to offer payment schedules in the event of temporary difficulties, but put these arrangements in writing with precise guarantees.

The eviction procedure, although burdensome, remains your last resort against defaulting tenants. Its complexity and its many pitfalls call for a methodical approach. By scrupulously following the steps described in this guide, you avoid the pitfalls that could invalidate your steps. Given the financial stakes and the consequences of a poorly conducted procedure, the assistance of a real estate lawyer is often useful.