43 model acts
5 practice areas: rent revision (1–9), mémoire (10–11), activity change (12–17), assignment (18–22), sub-letting (23–27), renewal (28–37), termination (38–43)
Commissaire de justice
Mandatory for all notices to quit (congés); strongly preferred for any act running a deadline or triggering a statutory right — date of service is beyond challenge
RAR sufficient
Registered letter (lettre recommandée avec AR) is permitted for most notifications since the 2015 Macron reform but carries more procedural risk than bailiff service
Mémoire → lawyer
Since 1 January 2020, the mémoire (Formules 10–11) must be signed by a lawyer; no standard template substitutes for case-specific drafting

Notification Method: RAR vs Commissaire de Justice

The two permitted notification methods for most commercial lease acts are: registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (RAR) and service by a commissaire de justice (formerly huissier). Since the 2015 Macron reform, most notifications can use either method. The commissaire de justice is strongly preferred for any act that runs a deadline — the date of service is fixed with certainty and contentious incidents from RAR notifications are far more common. A notification by ordinary letter carries no legal effect for prescription-interrupting or deadline-triggering purposes.

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Practical Rule

Use a commissaire de justice whenever the act runs a deadline, triggers a right, or needs to be used as evidence. Use RAR only for non-critical notifications where the date of receipt carries no significant procedural consequence. If in doubt, use both methods in parallel.

Rent Revision Acts (Formules 1–9)

1
Triennial revision demand — landlord (Arts. L. 145-37, L. 145-38)
RAR letter requesting triennial revision. States the current rent, confirms three years have elapsed since the last fixing, and states the proposed revised rent (provisional, to be confirmed once the next ILC/ILAT index is published — see Formule 2).
Triggers: two-year prescription for the revision claim. Method: RAR.
2
Confirmation of revised rent after index publication
Follow-up RAR specifying the final capped rent figure after ILC/ILAT is published. Refers back to Formule 1. Invites agreement within 15 days.
Method: RAR.
3
Revision demand — landlord, local trading conditions (Art. L. 145-38 al. 3)
Requests uncapped revision to market rental value based on a material change in local trading conditions justifying a variation of more than 10% in rental value. Pinel 10%-per-year smoothing must be mentioned.
Method: RAR.
4
Revision demand — tenant requesting downward revision, local trading conditions
Mirror of Formule 3 for a tenant-initiated downward revision based on a deterioration in local trading conditions exceeding 10% of rental value.
Method: RAR.
5
Deed of amicable rent revision
The deed formalising a consensual rent revision. Sets out the lease history, the agreed new rent, the Pinel smoothing schedule (if applicable), any deposit adjustment, and confirms no other lease changes. Registration recommended for date certaine.
Method: notarial act, lawyer-countersigned act, or private deed.
6
Indexed-lease revision demand — more than 25% variation (Art. L. 145-39)
Where the indexed rent has varied by more than 25% from the previously fixed contractual rent. Reproduces the index clause verbatim; confirms threshold met; proposes market rental value; invites agreement within 15 days.
Method: RAR.
7
Indexed-lease revision demand — by commissaire de justice
Same as Formule 6 but served by a commissaire de justice. Preferred where the prescription deadline is imminent or where a firm dated record of service is essential.
Method: commissaire de justice.
8
Demand to apply statutory revision to the indexed rent (material change in local trading conditions)
Used where local trading conditions have materially changed by more than 10%, entitling either party to demand that the statutory revision rules override the index for the new fixation (following Cass. 3e civ., 20 May 2015).
Method: RAR.
9
Deed of amicable revision — indexed lease
Formalises agreement on the new market rent where the indexed rent varied by more than 25% (Art. L. 145-39). Specifies how the index clause operates going forward on the newly fixed base rent.
Method: notarial, lawyer-countersigned, or private deed.

The Rent Fixation Mémoire (Formules 10–11)

The mémoire is the indispensable preliminary to any judicial rent fixation proceeding. Since 1 January 2020 it must be signed by a lawyer. No standard template can substitute for case-specific drafting — the formules below provide only a framework and list mandatory elements under Arts. R. 145-24 to R. 145-27.

10
Mémoire en demande (claimant's written submissions)
Contains: identification of claimant and defendant; address of the leased premises; copy of the triggering act; legal and factual grounds for the position on rent (capping/uncapping analysis, market rental value evidence, valuation method); all ancillary claims (provisional rent, interest, costs). Only matters in the mémoire can be argued at the hearing.
Triggers: two-year prescription interruption and the one-month waiting period before the court can be seised. Method: RAR + RPVA (both recommended). Lawyer's signature mandatory.
11
Mémoire en réponse (respondent's written submissions)
Mirror act for the other party. Must be filed after (not simultaneously with) the originating mémoire. Also interrupts the two-year prescription from date of sending. After the summons, subsequent mémoires are acts of procedure and the lawyer must formally constitute themselves.
Also interrupts prescription. Method: RAR + RPVA (both recommended). Lawyer's signature mandatory.

Change of Activity — Déspécialisation (Formules 12–17)

These six acts cover partial déspécialisation (adding connected or complementary activities, Art. L. 145-47) and full déspécialisation (replacing the permitted use, Arts. L. 145-48–50). The commissaire de justice is strongly recommended throughout because each notification starts mandatory deadlines.

12
Tenant's notification of intention to add connected/complementary activities — partial déspécialisation (Art. L. 145-47)
Served on the landlord. States the current activity; precisely lists the proposed additions; puts landlord on notice to contest within two months on pain of forfeiture.
Triggers: two-month period for landlord to contest. Method: commissaire de justice strongly preferred.
13
Landlord's response to partial déspécialisation demand
Must be served within two months or the landlord is foreclosed. Formally challenges the connected/complementary character of the proposed activities and prohibits the tenant from proceeding until the tribunal has ruled.
Deadline: two months from tenant's notification. Method: commissaire de justice strongly preferred.
14
Tenant's demand for full déspécialisation (Arts. L. 145-48, L. 145-49)
Precisely describes the new activities sought. Puts the landlord on notice: (a) to notify competing tenants in the same building within one month (Formule 16); and (b) to respond within three months. Also triggers the tenant's obligation to notify registered creditors (Formule 15).
Triggers: landlord's one-month duty to notify other tenants; landlord's three-month response deadline. Method: commissaire de justice strongly preferred.
15
Notification to registered creditors of the full déspécialisation demand (Art. L. 145-49 al. 1)
Served by the tenant on each creditor holding a registered privilege or charge over the fonds de commerce. Each creditor must be served separately.
Method: commissaire de justice strongly preferred.
16
Landlord's notification to other tenants of the full déspécialisation demand (Art. L. 145-49 al. 2)
Served by the landlord within one month of receiving the tenant's Formule 14 demand, on tenants in the same building with non-competition undertakings. Those tenants must respond within one month or be foreclosed.
Deadline: one month from receipt of tenant's demand. Method: commissaire de justice strongly preferred.
17
Landlord's response: refusal, conditional acceptance, or notice to quit (Arts. L. 145-49, L. 145-50, L. 145-53)
Three variants: (a) outright refusal for serious and legitimate grounds; (b) conditional acceptance; (c) refusal combined with a notice to quit. Silence for three months = deemed acquiescence.
Deadline: three months from tenant's demand. Method: commissaire de justice mandatory for variant (c) (notice to quit).

Lease Assignment (Formules 18–22)

18
Summons of the landlord to attend the signing of the assignment deed
The landlord (and any mortgagees of the building) must be convened to attend the signing so they can register any objection. Specifies the date, time, and place of signing.
Method: commissaire de justice.
19
Interpellatory summons served on the landlord (sommation interpellative)
Used where the landlord does not attend the signing or has not responded to the convocation. The commissaire de justice formally asks the landlord to state their position and records their response (or non-response).
Method: commissaire de justice.
20
Service of the assignment on the landlord — disability/retirement of the tenant (Art. L. 145-51)
A tenant who has suffered permanent incapacity or reached retirement age has the right to assign the lease regardless of lease restrictions. This act gives formal notice of the assignment under Art. L. 145-51.
Method: commissaire de justice.
21
Service of the disability/retirement assignment on registered creditors
Each creditor with a registered charge over the business must also be notified of the assignment under Art. L. 145-51.
Method: commissaire de justice.
22
Landlord's exercise of priority right in disability/retirement assignment
Under Art. L. 145-51, the landlord has a priority right to acquire the lease being assigned on disability/retirement grounds at the price offered by the third-party buyer. This act formally exercises that right.
Method: commissaire de justice.

Sub-letting (Formules 23–27)

23
Separate-deed subletting authorisation
Where sub-letting is not authorised in the main lease, the landlord grants written authorisation by a separate act. Registration is advisable to give date certaine status and make it opposable to any future buyer of the building.
Method: private deed or notarial act.
24
Tenant's notice to landlord of intention to sub-let
Where sub-letting requires landlord concurrence, the tenant formally notifies the landlord of the intended sub-let, the proposed sub-tenant, and the proposed sub-rent. The landlord must be invited to the signing of the sub-lease (Art. L. 145-31).
Method: RAR or commissaire de justice.
25
Demand for rent increase where sub-rent exceeds main rent (Art. L. 145-31)
If the sub-rent is higher than the main rent, the landlord may demand the main rent be increased to market rental value. This act constitutes the formal demand.
Triggers: two-year prescription from date of landlord's knowledge of the sub-rent. Method: RAR or commissaire de justice.
26
Notice to quit served on the main tenant — refusal of renewal (for the benefit of the sub-tenant)
Where the main lease is expiring and the landlord refuses renewal, this notice formally notifies the main tenant. The sub-tenant's direct right of renewal is protected separately — they must themselves seek renewal from the landlord.
Method: commissaire de justice.
27
Sub-tenant's demand for renewal directly from the head landlord (Art. L. 145-32)
Where the main tenant's lease expires and is not renewed, the sub-tenant holding a valid authorised sub-lease can exercise the right to seek direct renewal from the head landlord. This act formally constitutes that demand.
Method: commissaire de justice.

Renewal Procedure (Formules 28–37)

28
Notice to quit with renewal offer (congé avec offre de renouvellement) — landlord
The landlord's notice to quit specifying the expiry date and offering renewal at the proposed rent. Must reproduce Arts. L. 145-9 and L. 145-10 on pain of nullity. Triggers the tenant's one-month acceptance window and, on acceptance, the two-year prescription for the rent fixation action.
Method: commissaire de justice (mandatory for all notices to quit).
29
Supplementary act to the notice to quit — completing a deficient notice
Where the original notice to quit omitted a required mention or had a formal deficiency, this act supplements it. Must be served before the lease expires to cure the deficiency.
Method: commissaire de justice.
30
Tenant's demand for renewal (Art. L. 145-10)
The tenant's formal renewal demand, served in the six-month period before expiry or at any time thereafter. Must reproduce Art. L. 145-10. The landlord must respond within three months. Triggers the two-year prescription for rent fixation from the date of acceptance or expiry of the landlord's response period.
Method: commissaire de justice (mandatory per Art. L. 145-10).
31
Landlord's response to tenant's renewal demand — acceptance with proposed rent
Acceptance of the renewal principle, proposing the renewed rent and stating the proposed effective date. Triggers the two-year prescription for the rent fixation action from the date of acceptance.
Method: commissaire de justice.
32
Supplementary act adding the statutory rent proposal
Where the landlord's initial response accepted renewal but omitted to specify a proposed rent, this act adds the rent proposal. The prescription for rent fixation runs from this supplementary act.
Method: commissaire de justice.
33
Landlord's refusal of renewal in response to the tenant's demand
Must state whether an eviction indemnity is offered or denied. Absence of an indemnity offer must invoke a statutory ground. Triggers the two-year prescription for the tenant's eviction indemnity claim from the date of service.
Method: commissaire de justice.
34
Landlord's withdrawal of the renewal offer (rétractation)
The landlord may withdraw the offer within 15 days of the tenant's acceptance, provided the withdrawal is based on a serious and legitimate ground discovered after the offer. After that window, the offer is irrevocable.
Method: commissaire de justice.
35
Tenant's acceptance of the landlord's renewal offer
Where the landlord has served a notice to quit with renewal offer (Formule 28), the tenant must formally accept within one month. This act constitutes that acceptance.
Deadline: one month from receipt of the landlord's notice. Method: commissaire de justice.
36
Landlord's exercise of right of option (Art. L. 145-57) — declining renewal after fixing eviction indemnity
After the eviction indemnity is judicially fixed, the landlord exercises the right of option (confirms refusal and undertakes to pay the indemnity) or the right of repentance (offers renewal instead).
Method: commissaire de justice.
37
Tenant's exercise of right of option (Art. L. 145-57) — declining renewal after provisional fixing of renewed rent
After the renewed rent is provisionally fixed and the tenant considers it unacceptable, the tenant exercises the option to leave rather than accept the new rent. Triggers the obligation to surrender the premises.
Method: commissaire de justice.

Termination and Non-renewal Without Indemnity (Formules 38–43)

38
Preliminary formal demand before termination (mise en demeure)
The formal demand to the tenant to remedy a breach before the landlord applies for judicial termination under Art. 1184 C. civ. or invokes the clause résolutoire. Not to be confused with the commandement (Formule 40) — this act is a preliminary warning, not the formal trigger.
Method: RAR or commissaire de justice.
39
Notice of unilateral termination by the tenant (résiliation)
The tenant's notice exercising the contractual or triennial right to terminate at the end of a three-year period. Must respect the notice period in the lease (or six months statutory minimum) and the timing requirements of Art. L. 145-4.
Method: commissaire de justice (required for notice to quit).
40
Commandement invoking the clause résolutoire
The formal demand to pay or comply, triggering the clause résolutoire. Must reproduce Art. L. 145-41 on pain of nullity. The tenant has one month to pay/comply; failure causes the clause to acquire its effect, subject to judicial confirmation.
Triggers: one-month period for the tenant to remedy. Method: commissaire de justice (mandatory). Must reproduce Art. L. 145-41 — nullity if omitted.
41
Preliminary demand in a serious-and-legitimate-grounds refusal of renewal
Before serving a no-indemnity notice to quit on grounds of serious and legitimate breach (Art. L. 145-17-I, 1°), the landlord must first serve a formal warning demanding that the breach be remedied.
Method: commissaire de justice.
42
Notice to quit: refusal of renewal for serious and legitimate grounds, without indemnity
Served after the prior formal demand (Formule 41) has not been heeded. Must precisely state the grounds, refer to the prior demand, and confirm the absence of any eviction indemnity. Any vagueness will be exploited by the tenant.
Method: commissaire de justice (mandatory).
43
Notice to quit with refusal of renewal and eviction indemnity offer (Art. L. 145-9)
The standard notice to quit without renewal, offering an eviction indemnity. Must reproduce Arts. L. 145-9 and L. 145-10 on pain of nullity. States the proposed eviction indemnity amount (or acknowledges it will be fixed by agreement or court).
Triggers: two-year prescription for eviction indemnity claim from effective date of notice. Method: commissaire de justice (mandatory). Must reproduce Arts. L. 145-9 and L. 145-10 — nullity if omitted.
Key Points: Using Model Acts in French Commercial Lease Practice
  • Commissaire de justice for deadline-critical acts: use bailiff service whenever the act runs a mandatory deadline, triggers a statutory right, or needs to be used as evidence. Use RAR only for non-critical notifications. Ordinary letter = no legal effect for prescription or deadline purposes.
  • All notices to quit (congés) — commissaire de justice mandatory. Formules 28, 33, 39, 42, 43 require commissaire de justice service. The commandement (Formule 40) must reproduce Art. L. 145-41 on pain of nullity. Notices to quit (Formules 28 and 43) must reproduce Arts. L. 145-9 and L. 145-10 on pain of nullity. Tenant renewal demand (Formule 30) must reproduce Art. L. 145-10.
  • Mémoire (Formules 10–11): indispensable preliminary to judicial rent fixation. Must be signed by a lawyer (since 1 January 2020). No standard template substitutes for case-specific drafting. Prescription interruption by the mémoire operates only before the commercial rent judge — not in proceedings before the tribunal judiciaire.
  • Déspécialisation deadlines (Formules 12–17): all deadlines start from the date of commissaire de justice service. Missing the landlord's two-month window to contest partial déspécialisation (Formule 13) or the three-month window to respond to full déspécialisation (Formule 17) results in forfeiture and deemed acquiescence respectively.
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This article is for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Laws and regulations may have changed since publication. The model structures described are indicative frameworks only — always seek qualified French legal advice and have legal acts drafted by a qualified professional.