Since November 5, 2014 (the Pinel Law), landlords can no longer pass on all expenses to their hotel, café, or restaurant tenants.
What are the landlord’s obligations?
When signing the lease, the landlord must first attach the mandatory diagnostic reports: the statement of natural and technological risks, the energy performance certificate, the lead paint report if the premises are mixed-use (commercial and residential), and the environmental annex if the commercial premises are larger than 2,000 square meters.
They must also provide a detailed inventory of the categories of expenses, taxes, and duties payable by the hotel, café, or restaurant tenant. If there are several hotels, cafés, or restaurants, they must allocate these expenses, specifying the area operated by each.
If the landlord does not include certain charges in the inventory, they cannot claim them from the hotel, café, or restaurant (Cour d’Appel, March 3, 2022, No. 18/04413).
Finally, the landlord must provide their hotel, café, or restaurant tenant with a summary statement of charges by September 30th of each year. If the building is a condominium, this statement must be provided within three months of the condominium association sending the statement of charges.
Works
Every three years, at least two months before the deadline, the landlord must inform the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant of the work carried out and the work planned for the next three years, along with a projected budget. The buyer can request these work reports from the seller.
According to the law, which charges and works are the landlord’s mandatory responsibility?
The following works are the responsibility of the landlord:
– Major repairs affecting the building’s structure: traditionally referred to as “Article 606 of the Civil Code.” These include, firstly: load-bearing walls, vaults, beams, roof, retaining walls, dikes, and fences.
But they also include all other major works related to the structure and stability of the building:
• facade renovation, when it relates to the structure and stability of the building (TJ, May 23, 2024, No. 23/08069);
• complete roof or glass roof replacement, or replacement of roof drainage systems, affecting a significant portion of the building;
• repair of a ceiling that has partially collapsed due to water infiltration attributable to the construction;
• Accessibility work for people with reduced mobility (PRM) affecting the building’s structural elements (load-bearing walls, facade, structure);
• Major repairs due to dilapidation or regulatory compliance (e.g., electrical, fire safety).
This list is not exhaustive, and other works has been charged to the landlord, who has an obligation to provide a compliant property. For example, the landlord has been charged for the complete overhaul of a hotel’s air conditioning system to make the building suitable for its intended use.
– Fees related to rent management;
– Taxes, duties, or fees legally owed by the owner, including the Territorial Economic Contribution (CET);
– In a building complex: charges, taxes, or work related to vacant units or those belonging to other tenant hotels, cafes, or restaurants.
What charges and maintenance work can be charged to the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant?
Charges
If there is no specific clause in the lease, the tenant is responsible for:
• routine maintenance expenses necessary for the operation of the restaurant or hotel (Article 605 of the French Civil Code): maintenance of paintwork, carpets, sanitary facilities, shutters, heating or air conditioning units, meters, wallpaper, internal elevator in the restaurant or hotel, gutter cleaning, maintenance of rainwater drainage pipes, boiler, meters, garbage collection tax, etc. In a condominium, the tenant is responsible for their share of common expenses: elevator, cleaning, maintenance staff, etc.
However, the landlord can go further and stipulate in the lease that certain other expenses will be borne by the tenant, for example, property tax or water, gas, electricity, and heating costs charged to them by the condominium association.
Repairs
The landlord cannot charge the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant for major repairs as defined in Article 606 of the Civil Code.
However, if the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant has not properly maintained or has damaged the structural elements of the premises, it must pay for the necessary repairs and compensate the landlord. The landlord does not have to prove the loss in rental value it has suffered, nor that it previously bore the cost of carrying out the repairs (3e civ, January 7, 2021, No. 19-23.269).
This means, for example, that if the manager or staff of a hotel or restaurant damages an internal elevator, the roof, courtyards, sidewalks, manhole covers, or fences, the landlord does not have to pay for the repairs upfront to be compensated.
All other repairs can generally be charged to the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant: paintwork, carpeting, windows, doors, locks, shutters, sanitary facilities, and so on. Improvements whose cost exceeds that of a strictly identical replacement can also be charged to them.
A clause in the lease may stipulate that the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant is responsible for work related to wear and tear or regulatory compliance (unless it is a major repair as defined in Article 606 of the French Civil Code).
Accessibility work for people with reduced mobility (PRM) that does not involve major structural repairs is generally the responsibility of the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant.
What about commercial leases signed before November 5, 2014, and still in effect?
Some leases pre-dating November 5, 2014, still exist that were not renewed but were tacitly extended.
In this case, the lease clauses generally apply, provided they are clear.
For example, in these leases, major repairs caused by wear and tear or force majeure can generally still be charged to the hotel, café, or restaurant. Examples include repairing the boiler’s piping due to wear and tear or restoring flooring and joists that have given way due to age.
The same applies to bringing the premises into compliance with electrical and fire safety standards at the time of signing the lease. This can be stipulated in a lease clause and may be the responsibility of the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant (Cour de Cassation, 3e civ, January 18, 2018, No. 16-25.126).
Major repairs under Article 606 of the French Civil Code may also be charged to the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant (e.g., facade renovation).
However, the cost and its amount must be clearly defined or determinable (Bordeaux Court d’appel, 4e civ, November 18, 2019, No. 17/01263).
These are not the majority of leases signed, as most were signed and/or renewed after November 5, 2014 (the effective date of the Pinel Law). Therefore, they are not subject to the same regulations.
For leases signed after November 5, 2014, what happens if a specific clause in the lease places certain expenses on the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant?
A specific clause in the lease may stipulate that the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant is responsible for all repairs, other than those covered by Article 606.
If a clause expressly provides for it in the lease, work related to wear and tear, work necessary during the lease term to comply with safety standards (electrical or fire), work related to air conditioning, and necessary repairs and replacements, may be charged to the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant (Cour de cassation, 3e civ, May 9, 2019, 18-14.123;Cour de cass, 3e civ, July 4, 2019, No. 18-17.107; Cour de cassation, 3e civ, September 28, 2022, No. 21-20.879; Cour de cassation, 3e civ, April 10, 2025, No. 23-14.099).
However, no clause in the lease can validly stipulate that the tenant will be responsible for repairs under Article 606 of the French Civil Code. If such a clause exists, it is void, and the tenant will not be liable for them.
What if the lease contains no specific clause or an ambiguous clause regarding the allocation of a charge?
If the lease contains no specific clause, major repairs under Article 606 of the French Civil Code remain the responsibility of the landlord, even those related to dilapidation due to age (Cour de cassation, 3e civ, March 26, 2020, 19-10.415).
For example, repairs related to a roof collapse remain the responsibility of the landlord. As an illustration, a tenant hotel, café, or restaurant lost its stock after the roof collapsed and suffered operating losses. It was compensated because the landlord was obligated to cover the repairs related to the roof’s deterioration. He was even able to claim compensation after the lease ended (Cour de cassation, September 16, 2021, 19-22.839).
Maintenance work is the responsibility of the tenant.
The landlord is obligated to provide the hotel or restaurant leasing the premises with premises that conform to the intended use specified in the lease. For example, if the landlord leases premises for a restaurant business, an extraction duct must be installed by the landlord. A landlord leasing premises to a hotelier must install an air conditioning system, which is essential in a hotel, and must also provide premises that meet electrical and safety standards.
Even if a clause excludes all recourse against the landlord, their liability will not be waived, particularly in the event of damage to property located on the premises or for disruption to the tenant’s business operations (in this case, water infiltration) (Cass. 3e civ., April 10, 2025, No. 23-14.974).
This obligation of the landlord to provide premises conforming to the lease applies not only at the time the lease is signed, but also throughout its term (Cass. 3e civ., November 14, 2024, No. 23-12.650).
Thus, certain clauses are ineffective, such as:
– “The tenant will take the leased premises in their existing condition on the day of occupancy and may not demand any repairs or restoration from the landlord other than those necessary to ensure the premises are enclosed and roofed. The tenant will maintain the premises in good repair throughout the term of the lease and return them upon departure in the same condition as when received.”
– Or “The tenant will be deemed to have received the premises in perfect condition” without an inventory of fixtures (Cass 3e civ, June 5, 2002),
– or a clause prohibiting the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant from taking legal action for latent or apparent defects, damage, or poor workmanship.
Therefore, on this basis, the hotel or restaurant can request that its landlord replace an item of equipment or an installation essential to its business (e.g., a boiler).
He can also obtain a rent reduction for the duration of the disturbance of enjoyment, or even a judicial authorization to suspend the payment of rent by the tenant Hotel, Cafe, or restaurant until the owner carries out the necessary work (Cass, 3rd civ, February 27, 2020, 18-20.865, unpublished).
What to do in case of a dispute with your landlord?
Some repairs are very costly, sometimes amounting to several hundred thousand euros.
Disputes regularly arise concerning the nature of maintenance and repair charges, as well as their allocation between the landlord and the tenant hotel, café, or restaurant, in premises housing the operation of a hotel, café, or restaurant.
If the landlord does not carry out the necessary work, the tenant can compel them to do so through negotiation. If this fails, the tenant can take legal action to request that the work be carried out or that the repair costs be reimbursed.
When signing a lease or acquiring a hotel, restaurant, or café business, the business owner must verify that the landlord has indeed carried out the necessary compliance work and that the premises are suitable for the activity stipulated in the lease (electricity, fire safety, existence of an odor and smoke extraction duct for a restaurant, etc.).
The landlord, bound by their obligation to deliver the premises in a habitable condition, must therefore carry out the work necessary to bring the premises into compliance with safety standards (fire safety, electrical safety, air and smoke extraction systems, installation of a metal curtain, etc.). They must also replace the air and smoke extraction system if it does not comply with safety standards (Cass. 3e civ., June 30, 2021; Cass. 3e civ., April 11, 2019, No. 18-13.558; 2nd ruling Cass. 3e civ. April 11, 2019, No. 17-26.488).
The courts have ruled that if a landlord fails to provide premises suitable for their intended use, the tenant may be authorized by a judge to cease rent payments if they are no longer able to use the premises as intended (Cass 3e civ, October 10, 2024, No. 22624.395).
Indeed, if a hotel, café, or restaurant tenant discovers that the premises do not conform to the activity stipulated in the lease, they can, within one or two months, obtain a hearing date before the summary proceedings judge, who may order the landlord to carry out the necessary work to bring the premises into compliance. Note: the tenant cannot unilaterally cease rent payments; they must obtain authorization from the judge, and this is only possible if the premises have become unfit for their intended use (e.g., dilapidated facade of a building). Otherwise, the landlord risks terminating the lease for non-payment of rent.
Furthermore, the tenant can also take legal action to obtain damages for the disruption of their enjoyment of the premises.
Hotels, cafes, and restaurants are strongly advised to seek the assistance of a lawyer specializing in hotel and restaurant law from the initial lease negotiation and drafting stages, as well as any renewals, to avoid paying excessive and even disproportionate charges relative to their business.
Hotel and restaurant owners are also advised to have their current leases reviewed by a lawyer specializing in hotel and restaurant law to save on often substantial charges, which can amount to several thousand, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of euros, depending on the establishment.
SELARL Cabinet d’avocats PETROUSSENKO
Tel : 01 56 81 05 80