Landlord's notice in France: own use, sale, valid reason

The three possible grounds

1. Taking the home back to live in (reprise). The home must become the main residence of the landlord or a relative: their spouse, their Pacs (civil partnership) partner (registered on the date of the notice), their cohabiting partner of at least 1 year, their ascendants or descendants, or those of their spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner (art. 15; service-public.gouv.fr). The landlord “shows that the decision to take the home back is genuine and serious” (art. 15).

2. Sale. For an unfurnished home, notice to sell counts as an offer to sell to the tenant, valid during the first 2 months of the notice period. If the tenant accepts, they have 2 months to sign, or 4 months if they take out a loan (art. 15). There is no tenant right of pre-emption for furnished lets (service-public.gouv.fr). Details are in the guide congé pour vente (notice to sell).

3. A legitimate and serious reason. It may relate to the tenant (breach of obligations, unpaid rent) or to the landlord (renovation works, for example) (service-public.gouv.fr). For unpaid rent, see also the procédure en cas d’impayés (unpaid rent procedure).

Deadlines: 6 months unfurnished, 3 months furnished

The deadline is assessed on the date the tenant receives the notice: a notice received too late is not valid (service-public.gouv.fr).

Home bought with a tenant in place. For unfurnished lets, a buyer who wants to sell can only give notice at the end of the first renewal or first tacit renewal of the lease if the expiry date falls less than 3 years after the purchase. To take the home back to live in, the notice only takes effect at least 2 years after the purchase if the expiry date falls earlier (art. 15; service-public.gouv.fr).

Form and content of the notice

The notice is given by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, a deed served by a commissaire de justice (court officer) or hand delivery against a signature or receipt. A simple email is not valid; electronic registered mail is valid if the private tenant has agreed to it in advance (service-public.gouv.fr).

The notice states its ground. To take the home back: the name and address of the beneficiary and their relationship to the landlord. For a sale: the price, the terms of the sale and a description of the home, reproducing the first five paragraphs of section II of article 15. An information notice on the landlord’s obligations and the tenant’s remedies is attached to a notice to take back or to sell (art. 15; service-public.gouv.fr).

Elderly or low-income tenants: the protection

The landlord cannot give notice to a tenant aged over 65 whose annual income is below the ceiling set for allocating logements locatifs conventionnés (state-subsidised rented housing) without offering them a home suited to their needs and means (art. 15, III). According to service-public.gouv.fr, the protection also applies where the tenant, whatever their age, has a person over 65 as a dependant and the household income is below the ceiling, or where they receive the allocation de présence parentale (allowance for parents caring for a seriously ill child) subject to means testing.

The rehousing must be nearby: the same arrondissement (district) or adjoining ones, the same canton or an adjoining one, or otherwise within a 5 km radius (service-public.gouv.fr). The protection does not apply if the landlord, as an individual, is themselves over 65 or has an income below the same ceiling (art. 15, III). The ceilings apply to the income of the home’s occupants received during the 12 months preceding notification of the notice (service-public.gouv.fr, F929, checked 1 June 2026):

Some specific situations (young couple, a holder of the carte mobilité inclusion invalidité disability card, dependants) fall under the next row up: for example, a single person holding that card is subject to the 2-person ceiling (service-public.gouv.fr).

Fraudulent notice: the penalties

A notice to sell at a deterrent price, or a notice to take back followed by the beneficiary not occupying the home, exposes the landlord to a criminal fine of up to €6,000 for an individual and €30,000 for a company, without prejudice to damages for the tenant (art. 15; service-public.gouv.fr). To challenge it, the tenant writes to the landlord by registered letter; an attempt at conciliation is compulsory before going to court for a dispute of €5,000 or less (service-public.gouv.fr).

Which professional to consult

An agent immobilier (estate agent) managing the property can check the expiry date, the deadline and the content of the notice before it is sent. For a notice to sell, the notaire (notary) handling the sale checks that the tenant’s right of pre-emption has been cleared and that the signing deadlines are met.