If there is an area of ​​law in which you cannot "follow your intuition," it certainly is the commercial lease.

The amazing lightness of some traders and landlords is even more a reason to fear : the simple fact to have bought their contract " from professionals on the internet", makes them think they are legally and financially secured.

Far from me to question the competence of the editors of legal documentation on Internet, whether these are colleagues or not

The problem isn't there!

Poblems arise because, without an expert's view, you adopt what you think to be a secure legal framework, and discover afterwards that this contract dramatically favors the party, because it was written for a lessor or a particular trader, or the other way round.

The commercial lease is a can of worms if you sign without solid verifications.

Did I see you smile, reading my warnings, because you are living the quiet life of a lessor/ lessee for decades already, without problems?

I should write a questionnaire with multiple-choice answers for you to show yourself how well you escaped!

Know that you're absolutely not to blame, as the French legislature did not facilitate a lessors'/lessee's life with several texts full of ambiguities and sometimes lapses that may have mislead you (even some colleagues - especially if not allowed to call themselves "specialists" in commercial law -  can write dangerous contracts if they did not effectively studied the subject!).

But as I would not want to offend you with a result you didn't expect, I'll refrain from a quiz and I'll simply indicate some basic rules and pitfalls altogether.

I might come back on the subject in several successive articles, because traps are everywhere.

You are going to discover how transparency and logic are sometimes lacking in our Codes, practices and precedents. I insist on this, just to show that you do not necessarily had "a very bad lawyer" but because the law is simply a text written by humans, often in a hurry and often to replace one that is only partially abandoned.

The multiplication of texts and accelerating developments in all areas (international, european, economic, scientific, legal, commercial, data procession...) are such that most texts are necessarily incomplete and never exhaustive.

In this particular area, the commercial lease, there is another particularity:  the terms that fit your specific interest as a lessee or a lessor can only be identified as such if you understand what repercussions these standard clauses (or looking alike, as they shouldn't be a lot of standard clauses!) have.

There is no question of trapping your co-contractor, but to know what happens and in favor to whom if, for example, your contract exceeds the 9 year term: the different consequences can be of vital interest for either one.

Begin by noting that there are different commercial leases, those who have the real "status" and others who have not (such as special leases contracted for less than two years, seasonal leases and agreements called "precarious occupation" -"bail précaire").

These other contracts meet other criteria, obligations, evidence, and duration, but don't think you can escape the classification of "commercial lease" by simply changes the duration of your contract.

The contracts that have the true status of commercial lease are - amongst other texts - set by some hundred rules in the Commercial Code.

They all have their duration in common (a minimum of nine years engagement for the lessor) as well as these other features that make the commercial lease so "thorny" for the layman who doesn't bother to ask advice before signing the contract.

Let's start with probably the most common misunderstanding:

The commercial lease is automatically renewed every nine years ("tacitly" can be read in many contracts) at the end of the initial period of nine years, if the lessor does not terminate and the lessee does not manifest either.

That is a misunderstanding: the contract continues, goes on, carries on, prolongs, remains or perhaps even abides, whatever you want, but there is certainly no question of renewal.

A lyricist’s quarrel? No, this observation is essential!

As there is no specific legal requirement concerning the rental level at first signature of the lease contract, article L. 145-33 of the Commercial Code provides that the financial counterpart can be revised and accommodated to the effective rental value upon renewal of the lease, so in principle every nine years. However, a 9-year lease which continues its merry little way beyond this anniversary is not a renewed lease but as it says, a "continued" lease, and the poor lessee that pays far too much every month has to wait for another three year period, to be allowed to request adjustment of his rent in order to make it correspond to the local "market value".

Also, if the lessee demands a revision of the lease at the 9th anniversary + 1 day, the lessor can refuse to accommodate the price according the local "rental value" (which is determined by four specific elements).

An owner, aware that the price his lessee is willing to pay is (far) above the local market value, has all interest to define the contractual duration of more than 9 years at first signature, as such a contract is automatically derestricted ("déplafonné", the French say).

Or not to utter a word at the end of the nine year period..

Restriction is the rule in a standard 9-year contract, only allowing the owner to adapt the annual rent to legal indexation,  depending on the cost of construction (INSEE value) or a specific index for Commercial rents (or any other objective criteria related to the business carried on, for example).

Attention also not to confuse the rent review and indexing it: Article L. 145-38 of the Commercial Code limits the possibility to review the rent to each triennium only, while indexing is required/allowed each year.
Many of you think that indexing is done every three years only.

Beware, if you set the lease to 12 years or more, a deed is mandatory. But even in that case, check your counsel on his expertise in this area: some French notaries almost never practice commercial law, and those who do, might be recommended by the other party and thus chose the rules which are in the latter's favor!

These were just a few guidelines concerning duration, if you appreciate, I'll come back for more.