15 days
Repentance window after judgment becomes res judicata — landlord can still withdraw refusal and offer renewal before paying
3 months
Tenant's departure window after payment or notification of deposit to sequester — keys must be handed back within this period
1% per day
Penalty retained by sequester and remitted to landlord for each day of late departure after formal notice — court cannot reduce it
Full deposit required
All indemnity components (including accessories and interest) must be deposited before the 3-month clock and penalty can start (Cass. 2022)

The Debtor and Creditor of the Indemnity

Who Is the Debtor?
The landlord who served the notice refusing renewal is the debtor of the eviction indemnity.

Building sale after notice: the selling landlord remains the debtor — not the buyer — unless the sale agreement expressly transfers the obligation (Cass. 3e civ., 13 Sept. 2011).

Split ownership: only the usufructuary is the debtor, since they can refuse renewal without the bare owner's agreement (Cass. 3e civ., 19 Dec. 2019).
Who Is the Creditor?
The tenant, or a later assignee of the fonds de commerce if the business was sold after the refusal: the indemnity claim and the right to remain pass with the business by operation of law unless otherwise agreed (Cass. 3e civ., 6 April 2005).

Registered creditors: creditors have no statutory right over the eviction indemnity — but can obtain an attachment (saisie-attribution) over the sequestered funds.

The Chronological Sequence (Arts. L. 145-29 & L. 145-30)

Payment and Departure — Step by Step
1
Fifteen-Day Repentance Window
After the judgment fixing the indemnity becomes res judicata, the landlord has 15 days to exercise the right of repentance (Art. L. 145-58) — withdrawing the refusal, offering renewal, and avoiding the indemnity entirely. Once those 15 days expire without repentance, the obligation to pay crystallises.
2
Payment or Deposit to Sequester
The landlord pays the indemnity directly to the tenant, or (more commonly) deposits it with a court-appointed sequester and notifies the tenant of the deposit. If the landlord does not act, the tenant can serve a formal bailiff's demand (commandement) reproducing the text of Art. L. 145-30, al. 2. The landlord then has three months from the demand to pay or deposit.
3
Three-Month Departure Window Begins
From the date of payment to the tenant or notification of deposit to the sequester, the tenant has three months to vacate and hand back the keys. The landlord should notify the tenant of the deposit by registered letter or bailiff's act and formally require vacation at the expiry of three months.
4
Key Handover and Release of Sequestered Funds
When the tenant returns the keys, the sequester releases the indemnity to the tenant on their receipt alone, provided there are no creditor oppositions (or attachments), the premises are empty, tax and rent payments are confirmed, and any exit reservations have been addressed. Financial returns on sequestered funds belong to the tenant (Cass. 3e civ., 3 Dec. 2003).
5
1% Per Day Penalty for Late Departure
If the tenant fails to hand back the keys within the three-month period after payment or notification, and after a formal notice is served, the sequester retains 1% of the indemnity per day of delay and remits that retention to the landlord. The landlord can also seek expulsion and claim an occupation indemnity for the period beyond three months.

The Sequester

Payment directly to the tenant gives the landlord no guarantee of obtaining the premises within the three-month window. A sequester provides that guarantee by linking release of the funds to actual key handover and fulfilment of exit conditions. The sequester can be appointed by agreement between the parties, by the court judgment fixing the indemnity, or subsequently by requête (the last route carries risk). Always request sequester appointment in the original claim proceedings.

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Critical Point — Full Indemnity Must Be Deposited Before the Clock Starts

The three-month departure clock and the 1% per day penalty mechanism only work if the sequestered amount covers the entire indemnity, including all accessories and accrued interest. Where certain components (notably redundancy payments which may not be fixed at the time of the judgment) remain undetermined, the full sequester deposit cannot be made, and therefore the departure deadline cannot be triggered. Landlords who want a clean exit date need all indemnity components fixed before attempting to start the clock (Cass. 3e civ., 19 October 2022, n° 21-16.055).

Key Handover and Exit Conditions

The premises must be returned empty of all furniture and occupants. A handover with furniture remaining on-site is not a valid restitution (Cass. 3e civ., 4 February 1986). Where the landlord accepts the keys without expressing any reservation and a bailiff's record confirms only minor residual items, the tenant has been held to have restituted (Cass. 3e civ., 2 February 2000). The landlord should always inspect on handover and note any reservations formally.

If there is a dispute over exit repairs, this does not entitle the landlord to delay payment of the indemnity — the sequester cannot retain funds on that account. The landlord's remedy for disputed exit repairs is a saisie conservatoire over the sequestered indemnity (CA Versailles, 6 October 2010). The parties can contractually agree that the tenant must carry out exit repairs before handing back the keys — this is enforceable as the Art. L. 145-29 provisions are not mandatory (Cass. 3e civ., 6 March 1985).

The 1% Per Day Penalty

This penalty operates automatically through the sequester and is not a conventional penalty clause: the court cannot moderate it and the referral judge cannot suspend it (CA Paris, 7 January 1983). The conditions for it to run are strict: a sequester must be in place; the full indemnity including interest must have been deposited; a formal notice must have been served on the tenant at the expiry of the three-month period; and the delay must be attributable to the tenant. Force majeure or the landlord's own conduct can delay the start of the penalty. For hotel operators who cannot vacate because administrative authorities are refusing to assist with the eviction of residential occupants, courts have held the penalty cannot run (Cass. 3e civ., 13 September 2018).

Interest on the Indemnity

Interest on the indemnity begins to run from a date fixed at the court's discretion under Article 1231-7 of the Civil Code: courts have fixed the start date variously at the date of the summons, the date of the first instance judgment, or the date of the Court of Appeal ruling. The financial return on the sequestered indemnity during the period between deposit and release belongs to the tenant (Cass. 3e civ., 3 December 2003). Payment of the indemnity directly, or notification of deposit to the sequester, stops the accrual of moratoire interest from that date.

Recovery of Indemnities Where Tenant Does Not Relocate

Where the tenant, having received the accessory indemnities tied to relocation costs, ultimately does not relocate, the landlord can bring a claim for recovery of those sums. The Court of Cassation confirmed this in 2019: accessory indemnities for transfer duties, commercial disruption, and removal costs paid in anticipation of a relocation that did not occur can be reclaimed (Cass. 3e civ., 28 March 2019, n° 17-17.501). The res judicata of the original judgment does not prevent this claim because the subsequent non-relocation is a new factual development.

Payment and Restitution: Key Points
  • Debtor: the landlord who served the refusal notice. Building sale after the notice does not transfer the obligation unless the sale agreement expressly says so (Cass. 3e civ., 13 Sept. 2011). Usufruct: only the usufructuary owes the indemnity (Cass. 3e civ., 19 Dec. 2019). Creditor: the tenant or later assignee of the fonds — the right passes with the business.
  • Sequence (Arts. L. 145-29 & L. 145-30): 15-day repentance window → payment or deposit + notification → 3-month departure window → key handover / fund release → 1% per day penalty after formal notice at month-end. Always request sequester appointment in the original proceedings.
  • Full deposit required (Cass. 3e civ., 19 Oct. 2022, n° 21-16.055): the entire indemnity including all accessories and accrued interest must be deposited before the 3-month clock and the 1% penalty can start. Undetermined components (e.g. redundancy costs) block the mechanism — landlords must have all components fixed before attempting to trigger the departure deadline.
  • Key handover: premises must be empty; landlord should inspect on handover and note reservations formally. Disputed exit repairs do not entitle the landlord to delay payment — remedy is saisie conservatoire over sequestered indemnity. Financial returns on sequestered funds belong to the tenant.
  • 1% penalty: not a penalty clause — court cannot reduce it; referral judge cannot suspend it. Must have: sequester in place; full indemnity deposited; formal notice served after 3-month window expires; delay attributable to the tenant. Cannot run where eviction is blocked by administrative authority (Cass. 3e civ., 13 Sept. 2018).
  • Non-relocation recovery (Cass. 3e civ., 28 March 2019): where the tenant received accessory indemnities for a relocation that did not occur, the landlord can reclaim those sums. The res judicata of the original judgment does not prevent this — subsequent non-relocation is a new factual development.
Managing the Eviction Payment and Departure Process?

Getting the sequence right is critical: a misstep in timing on either side can have significant financial consequences. We advise landlords and tenants on the payment and restitution procedure, sequester appointments, and the practical steps needed to trigger — or avoid — the 1% daily penalty.

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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. Always seek qualified French legal advice on eviction indemnity payment and restitution procedures.