A tenant's claim for payment of eviction compensation (indemnité d'éviction) is time-barred two years after the notice to quit (congé) takes effect. The court-ordered expert appraisal (expertise judiciaire) sought by the landlord alone does not suspend that period for the tenant's benefit. The lessee obtains the suspensive effect only if it expressly joins the application for an appraisal, or if it seeks, even in the alternative, a supplement to or an amendment of the expert's terms of reference.
Key points
- The tenant has two years from the date on which the notice to quit takes effect to bring a claim before the court for payment of the eviction compensation, under Articles L. 145-9 and L. 145-60 of the French Commercial Code.
- An appraisal ordered at the landlord's request in order to quantify the eviction compensation suspends the limitation period (prescription) for the landlord's benefit, not for the tenant's.
- The tenant benefits from suspension only if it expressly joins the application for an appraisal or applies, even in the alternative, to supplement or amend the expert's terms of reference.
- Merely entering protests and reservations before the judge in summary proceedings (référé) leaves the limitation period running against the tenant.
- A notice to quit accompanied by an offer of eviction compensation does not, in itself, amount to acknowledgement of the right to that compensation interrupting the limitation period.
Why the tenant's claim was time-barred
A tenant who lets the landlord apply alone for the appraisal gains no additional time in which to claim its eviction compensation. The decision discussed here (Civ. 3e, 12 February 2026, No. 24-18.382) concerns a lease of commercial premises. In June 2017, the landlord served on the tenant a notice to quit taking effect on 31 December 2017, refusing renewal and offering eviction compensation. In October 2017, the landlord issued a writ of summons (assignation) against the tenant in summary proceedings in order to obtain an appraisal quantifying the eviction compensation and the occupation indemnity (indemnité d'occupation). Before the judge in summary proceedings, the tenant did not join that application and merely entered protests and reservations.
The tenant sued the landlord for payment of the eviction compensation on 6 March 2020, that is, more than two years after the notice to quit had taken effect. The landlord pleaded the limitation period. The decision under appeal (CA Paris, 30 May 2024, No. 23/11321) held the claim time-barred. The third civil chamber dismissed the appeal to the Cour de cassation (France's highest civil court): a tenant that is merely a defendant in summary proceedings for an appraisal does not benefit from suspension of the limitation period, having made no application whatsoever before the judge in summary proceedings.
The third civil chamber sets out the condition on which the tenant, although a defendant, may rely on the suspensive effect attached to the investigative measure (mesure d'instruction). That condition lies in a step taken on its own initiative before the judge in summary proceedings. The decision puts it as follows (free translation):
It follows that a commercial lease tenant who is a defendant in summary proceedings brought by the landlord under Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure seeking a court-ordered expert appraisal to determine the amount of the eviction compensation benefits from the suspensive effect on the limitation period attached to the investigative measure only if it expressly joins the application or makes an application, even in the alternative, to supplement or amend the expert's terms of reference, in order to preserve or establish, before any trial, evidence of facts on which its substantive claim may depend.
What is the time limit for claiming eviction compensation?
The evicted tenant must bring the matter before the lower court judge within two years of the date on which the notice to quit takes effect, whether or not the appraisal has been completed. The starting point depends neither on the date the notice to quit was served nor on the filing of the expert's report. The decision so states, relying on Articles L. 145-9 and L. 145-60 of the French Commercial Code:
the two-year limitation period for the tenant's claim for payment of that compensation starts to run from the date on which the notice to quit takes effect
- Time limit: two years, under the two-year limitation period applicable to claims relating to commercial leases.
- Starting point: the date on which the notice to quit takes effect.
- Consequence: the tenant's claim is held time-barred and the eviction compensation can no longer be obtained through the courts.
Three mechanisms can defeat the running of time, according to the decision. Acknowledgement by the landlord of the right to eviction compensation interrupts the limitation period (Article 2240 of the French Civil Code). A claim brought before the courts, including in summary proceedings, also interrupts it (Article 2241). Where the judge grants an application for an investigative measure made before any trial, the limitation period is suspended, time starting to run again for a period which may not be less than six months from the day on which the measure was carried out (Article 2239).
Suspension does not automatically benefit both parties. It benefits the party that applied for the investigative measure. A tenant that has remained passive before the judge in summary proceedings therefore sees time run without interruption, even though the expert is valuing the compensation that would be due to it.
Suspension reserved for the party applying for the appraisal
The decision confirms that the suspension attached to an investigative measure operates only for the benefit of the party that applied for it, and specifies what the tenant must do in order to benefit from it. Two decisions cited in the ruling had already laid down this rule (Civ. 2e, 31 January 2019, No. 18-10.011; Civ. 3e, 19 March 2020, No. 19-13.459). The contribution of the decision discussed here lies in setting out the two alternative situations in which the defendant tenant escapes that limitation.
The court of appeal had rejected the argument that the expert's terms of reference also covered the valuation of the compensation due to the tenant. In its view, that circumstance does not suspend the limitation period as regards the party that has applied for nothing. As the case law stood on 12 February 2026, mere participation in the appraisal proceedings is therefore not enough to preserve the tenant's time limit.
The decision also confirms the strictness of the scrutiny applied to an acknowledgement said to interrupt time. The lower court judges had noted that the landlord, in its writ of summons in summary proceedings, asserted the occupation indemnity as being due, but used tentative wording for the eviction compensation. Their assessment of the written submission (dire) addressed to the expert, held to contain no unequivocal acknowledgement, falls within their unfettered discretion.
The tenant's reflexes when faced with a notice to quit offering compensation
Faced with a notice to quit offering eviction compensation, the tenant secures its rights by bringing substantive proceedings within two years and by taking a position in the appraisal proceedings. The strategy of waiting for the expert's report is paid for here with the right itself. The points to watch that follow from the decision are these:
- Calculate the expiry of the time limit as soon as the notice to quit is received, from its effective date and not from its service.
- Bring substantive proceedings before that date, without waiting for the expert's report to be filed.
- Before the judge in summary proceedings seised by the landlord, expressly join the application for an appraisal or seek, even in the alternative, a supplement to or an amendment of the terms of reference.
- Do not settle for protests and reservations, which let time continue to run.
- Keep a written record of the applications made before the judge in summary proceedings.
On the landlord's side, the decision shows that the compensation offer contained in the notice to quit and the application for an appraisal do not amount to acknowledgement of the tenant's right. An acknowledgement interrupting time requires a positive and unequivocal act. Technical exchanges with the expert, discussing a valuation method without admitting the principle of the debt, do not constitute such an acknowledgement.
The checks to carry out as soon as the notice to quit is received
The first check concerns the effective date of the notice to quit, which governs the expiry of the two years. The second concerns the position taken in any summary proceedings brought by the landlord: an express application, even in the alternative, changes the rules on time. The third is never to make the writ of summons on the merits conditional on the filing of the expert's report. Finally, no offer contained in the notice to quit and no technical discussion before the expert relieves the tenant of the obligation to act within the time allowed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a tenant wait for the expert's report before suing the landlord for eviction compensation?
No, waiting is risky. The tenant's claim for payment of eviction compensation is time-barred two years after the notice to quit takes effect. An appraisal ordered at the landlord's request does not suspend that period for a tenant who remains passive. In the case decided on 12 February 2026, the tenant sued after the two years had expired, while the report had not yet been filed: the claim was held time-barred.
What should a tenant do in summary proceedings if the landlord applies for an appraisal of the eviction compensation?
Two options give the tenant the benefit of suspension. The first is to join expressly the application for an appraisal made by the landlord. The second is to make an application, even in the alternative, to supplement or amend the expert's terms of reference. The third civil chamber held on 12 February 2026 that mere protests and reservations produce no suspensive effect for the tenant.
Does an offer of eviction compensation in the notice to quit amount to acknowledgement of the landlord's debt?
No. A notice to quit refusing renewal and offering eviction compensation does not, in itself, amount to acknowledgement of the tenant's right to that compensation. An acknowledgement interrupting the limitation period requires a positive and unequivocal act. In the case decided on 12 February 2026, neither the landlord's application for an appraisal nor its technical letter to the expert was regarded by the lower court judges as such an acknowledgement.
Does an ongoing appraisal prevent a party from bringing substantive proceedings?
No, in principle nothing prevents a party from going before the lower court while an investigative measure is under way. The court seised may wait for the report to be filed before ruling on the amount claimed, but the writ of summons preserves the claimant's rights. Waiting until the expert proceedings have concluded before taking action carries the risk that the claim may be deemed time-barred if the claimant did not request the appointment of the expert or submit a claim during the expert proceedings.
Do negotiations with the other party suspend the time limit for bringing a claim?
Negotiations do not, in themselves, stop time running. Only the grounds of suspension or interruption laid down by statute have that effect, and they generally require a specific step by the party concerned or a clear acknowledgement of its right by the other. Informal negotiation, however lengthy and conducted in good faith, is therefore no substitute for going to court within the time allowed.