The heir to real estate has been prohibited from recovering the home his mother left him. He was convicted in this legal dispute because of the tenants of the apartment.
An owner thought he would recover the property his mother left him as an inheritance. But despite the compliance of the estate, his inheritance turned into a legal ordeal because of the tenants who occupied the accommodation. To fully understand this new case law, let us first return to the origins of the dispute.
This case takes us back to October 1, 2015. At that time, Annette (name has been changed), owner of an apartment in Paris, decided to rent her property. She therefore signs a rental lease with a couple of tenants. Unfortunately for her, over the years, from 2015 to 2017, tenants accumulate late and unpaid rent.
Faced with these repeated failures, Annette decides to regain control of her property. On March 1, 2018, she notified the tenants of notice to take over the accommodation, indicating that she wanted to live there herself. Taking into account the 6 months’ notice, the end of the rental contract was scheduled for September 30, 2018.
From a legal point of view, the procedure seemed impeccable. The notice for resumption purposes had been correctly drawn up and a possible eviction of the tenants after the expiry of the notice period was ready to begin. However, an unforeseen event disrupted the procedure: on July 3, 2018, Annette died. It was therefore his son Marc, the sole heir, who became the owner of the apartment.
Determined to continue the process started by his mother, he immediately let the tenants know that he also wanted to take over the accommodation to live there himself. The problem is that the tenants refuse to leave the premises. Marc then summons them before a judicial court on March 13, 2019. The heir demands validation of the leave initially notified by his mother, the expulsion of the couple, the payment of occupancy compensation, as well as the settlement of unpaid rent from previous years.
The case ended up before the Paris Court of Appeal. The latter delivered its verdict on October 25, 2022. The judges ruled in favor of the heir, validating the leave for recovery and ordering the eviction of the tenants. The court of appeal also ordered the couple of tenants to pay Marc monthly occupancy compensation and to settle the unpaid rent.
Considering themselves wronged, the couple of tenants took the matter to the Court of Cassation. In its judgment No. 257 FS-B, rendered on April 16, 2026, the highest court in the country this time ruled in favor of the tenants. The magistrates recalled that, according to article 15-I of the law of July 6, 1989, the death of the owner before the expiration of the 6-month notice period should render the leave issued to tenants ineffective. The magistrates stressed that Marc could not “inherit” the leave for resumption notified by Annette. Indeed, the text of the law specifies that “the leave for resumption must mention the name and address of the beneficiary”. However, Marc was not noted as a beneficiary!
The Court of Cassation therefore partially overturned the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal. She confirmed that the tenants had to pay the 4,000 euros of unpaid rent accumulated in 2015, 2016 and 2017, with a payment deadline of 20 months. On the other hand, she invalidated the leave and the expulsion, considering that the heir could not recover the accommodation. Marc was then ordered to pay 3,000 euros to the tenants to reimburse the legal costs paid during this procedure. To recover his property, he will have to issue notice to the tenants himself and then wait another 6 months.
