The limitation period (prescription) for a tenant's claim against a landlord who has not delivered the whole of the leased premises does not start to run from the tenant's entry into the premises. As long as the breach of the delivery obligation (obligation de délivrance) persists, the tenant may seek specific performance. The tenant may also obtain compensation for the damage suffered during the five years preceding the claim, pursuant to Article 2224 of the French Civil Code.
The key points
- The landlord's delivery obligation is a continuing obligation, enforceable throughout the term of the lease.
- The tenant may seek specific performance of delivery for as long as the landlord's breach continues, without the date of entry into the premises being raised against them.
- Compensation for the harmful consequences of the non-performance is limited to the five years preceding the claim.
- A renewed commercial lease describing premises or a courtyard binds the landlord to secure the tenant's effective enjoyment of them.
A courtyard never delivered since 2003
The third civil chamber quashes the decision which had held the tenant's claim time-barred, whereas the breach of the delivery obligation persisted on the date of the writ of summons (assignation) (Civ. 3e, 5 March 2026, No. 24-19.292). Commercial premises used for a bakery, pastry and viennoiserie business had been let in 1997. In 2003, buyers of the business assets (fonds de commerce) took over the leasehold right and signed an amendment. The lease was renewed in 2017. Both the 2003 amendment and the renewed 2017 lease described, at the rear of the building, a large courtyard, part of which is covered.
The tenants sued the landlord in 2019 to obtain enjoyment of that courtyard and compensation. The court of appeal (CA Rennes, 29 May 2024, No. 21/04162) held their claims inadmissible as time-barred: the tenants knew the layout of the courtyard and their rights over it from the signing of the amendment, in 2003, so that the five-year period had run from that date.
The Cour de cassation (France's highest civil court) quashes that reasoning on the basis of Articles 1709, 1719 and 2224 of the French Civil Code. It recalls that the landlord is bound, by the very nature of the contract, to deliver the leased property to the tenant, and then draws a consequence of method as to the starting point of the limitation period (free translation):
This continuing obligation of the landlord is enforceable throughout the term of the lease.
It follows that the tenant is entitled, first, to seek specific performance of the delivery obligation for as long as the breach continues and, second, to obtain compensation for the harmful consequences of that non-performance over a period of five years preceding the claim.
What the tenant may still claim
A tenant deprived of part of the leased premises retains two separate claims, only one of which is limited in time. The first is specific performance: obtaining actual delivery by the landlord of the part of the premises provided for in the contract. This claim remains available for as long as the deprivation lasts. The second is compensation for the damage caused by that deprivation. It is limited to the five years preceding the claim. A tenant deprived for fifteen years may therefore obtain delivery, but compensation only for the last five years.
The rationale lies in the nature of the lease. The landlord does not owe delivery once and for all, on the first day: it is owed every day, throughout the term of the contract. Each day of deprivation therefore constitutes a fresh breach. The tenant's long-standing knowledge of the lack of enjoyment does not set running a single period that would extinguish all of their rights.
What is the starting point of the five-year limitation period?
The decision rules out entry into the premises as the sole starting point of the limitation period where the landlord's breach continues. The court of appeal had applied the classic rule of discovery of the damage: since the tenants had known from 2003 that they had no access to the courtyard described in the amendment, their claim was extinguished five years later. The third civil chamber holds that this approach is unsuited to an obligation whose performance is continually renewed.
The reasoning confirms the distinction between the two claims. For specific performance, no original date is raised: all that matters is the persistence of the breach on the date of the claim. For compensation, the limitation period does apply, but by delimiting a rolling five-year window before the writ of summons. The quashing is total and the case is remitted to the court of appeal of Angers: the substance of the dispute – the actual extent of the leased premises and the existence of the breach – remains entirely open.
One question falls outside the scope of the decision: the landlord argued before the court of appeal that the notarial deeds contained clerical errors (erreurs matérielles) as regards the mention of the courtyard. The court to which the case is remitted will have to examine that debate on the content of the delivery obligation, which the limitation period had until now obscured.
Practical steps for the commercial landlord and tenant
The description of the premises in the lease and its amendments binds the landlord on a lasting basis, and the passage of time does not release it. A landlord who allows a renewal deed to continue to mention a space it does not intend to deliver exposes itself to a claim for specific performance, however long-standing the situation. The tenant's prolonged tolerance amounts neither to a waiver nor to the time-barring of the right to delivery.
On the tenant's side, the age of the dispute does not close the door to a claim for delivery. It does, however, carry a direct financial cost: each additional year of waiting is a year of compensation lost, since compensation does not go back beyond five years before the writ of summons. Documenting the deprivation – formal records, letters, the landlord's replies – remains useful in establishing the breach and assessing the damage over the compensable period.
Checks to carry out on the description of the leased premises
- Compare the description of the premises in the original lease, the amendments and the renewal deed: discrepancies between these documents fuel litigation.
- On renewal, check that the designation carried over corresponds to the spaces actually made available.
- For a tenant deprived of part of the premises, factor in that compensation will cover only the five years preceding the writ of summons.
- Keep the written exchanges establishing the date and duration of the deprivation of enjoyment.
Frequently Asked Questions
My landlord has not delivered part of my premises for ten years, can I still act?
Yes. A claim for actual delivery remains available for as long as the deprivation continues. Under the decision of 5 March 2026, the delivery obligation is continuing and enforceable throughout the term of the lease, so the age of the breach is no obstacle to specific performance. Compensation for the damage, by contrast, is limited to the five years preceding the claim.
Over what period can I obtain damages for premises that were only partly delivered?
Over the five years preceding the claim. The third civil chamber holds that the tenant may obtain compensation for the harmful consequences of the non-performance over a period of five years before the claim is brought. Earlier damage is not compensated. Waiting therefore carries a direct financial cost: each month that passes removes a month of compensation from the recoverable window.
Does renewing the lease restart the time limit for suing the landlord?
Renewal becomes secondary in the reasoning adopted by the Cour de cassation on 5 March 2026. Admissibility does not depend on the date of a document, but on whether the breach persists when the claim is brought. The description of the premises in the renewal deed nevertheless keeps its importance: it defines the extent of what the landlord has undertaken to deliver.
What should I do if my lease describes a space I have never enjoyed?
Start by gathering the successive documents, namely the original lease, the amendments and the renewal deed, to check what the landlord undertook to make available. Then record the deprivation in writing and serve formal notice on the landlord to perform. In principle, the tenant may ask the court both for effective delivery of the premises and for compensation for the loss of enjoyment.
Can a mistake in the description of leased premises be corrected afterwards?
A landlord relying on a clerical error in the designation of the premises must prove it before the court. Simply asserting that the document does not reflect the parties' agreement is not enough to set aside the contractual description. In principle, a deed is evidence of its content between the parties, and the party seeking rectification bears the burden of proving the alleged discrepancy.