Landlord's notice to quit: sale, repossession, deadlines and challenge

A notice letter upsets an entire family's organisation. Yet a landlord cannot end a lease whenever they like, nor however they like. A lawyer reviews your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

Landlord's notice to quit: three grounds, and no others

Article 15 of the law of 6 July 1989 closes the list. The owner of an unfurnished let may give notice only on one of these three grounds:

• Sale of the property, which opens a right of first refusal for the tenant.
• Repossession to live there, for the landlord, their spouse, partner, acknowledged cohabitant, ascendants or descendants.
• A legitimate and serious reason, such as repeated arrears or established nuisance to neighbours.

No other ground stands. A landlord who simply wants to raise the rent or change tenant therefore gives an irregular notice, and the lease continues.

Notice takes effect at the end of the lease, never during the contract. The tenant, in contrast, may leave whenever they like, with one or three months' notice depending on the area.

Deadlines and form

Type of let	Landlord's notice period
Unfurnished property	6 months before the end of the lease
Furnished property	3 months before the end of the lease
Mobility lease	No notice possible, the term is fixed in advance

A landlord's notice to quit must be served by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by an enforcement officer, or in person against a signed receipt. A mere email is worth nothing.

Time runs from receipt, not from posting. A letter delivered too late therefore pushes the notice to the following term, generally three years further on.

Content matters just as much: the ground must be stated, the beneficiary of any repossession named with their family link, and the official information notice annexed since 2018.

Notice to sell: the right of first refusal

A landlord's notice to quit given in order to sell amounts to an offer of sale to the tenant. It states the price and the conditions, and the offer stays open for the first two months of the notice period.

Situation	Time allowed
Acceptance of the offer	First 2 months of the notice period
Signature after acceptance	2 months, or 4 months with a mortgage
Later sale at a lower price	Fresh offer to the tenant required

If the landlord eventually sells more cheaply to a third party, they must first offer that new price to the tenant, through the notary. That second offer is required on pain of the sale being void.

Note: selling an occupied property remains possible without any notice. The buyer then takes over the running lease, on the same terms.

Protection for older tenants

Article 15 III limits a landlord's notice to quit against a tenant over 65 whose annual income stays below a ceiling set each year. The landlord must then offer rehousing that matches their needs, in the same area.

That protection falls away where the landlord is themselves over 65 at the term, or where their income sits below the same ceiling. Age is assessed at the date the notice takes effect.

Challenging a landlord's notice to quit

An irregular notice is void, and the lease continues as if nothing had happened. The most frequent grounds of challenge are:

• Too short a period, counted from receipt.
• No stated ground, or a vague one.
• The beneficiary of the repossession unnamed, or outside the permitted family circle.
• A manifestly inflated sale price, which empties the right of first refusal of meaning.
• The missing information notice.

Do not leave before having the document checked. Apply to the departmental conciliation commission, which is free, then to the protection litigation judge.

A fraudulent notice also carries a criminal penalty: up to €6,000 for an individual and €30,000 for a company. A landlord who repossesses and immediately relets faces that fine, as well as damages.

After the notice: what remains to be done

A valid landlord's notice to quit does not excuse you from paying rent during the notice period. You may leave before it ends, however, and then pay only for the time you actually occupied.

Organise the outgoing inventory carefully, because it governs the return of the security deposit. Also ask in writing for the service charges to be settled.

When to consult a lawyer

A lawyer checks the notice line by line and calculates the exact deadline. They also negotiate a departure payment where the landlord wants to move fast. A property lawyer answers within 20 minutes. Eviction proceedings follow separate rules. The detail sits on service-public.gouv.fr.