Beyond Traders: Who Can Access French Commercial Lease Protections

The Extensions at a Glance

Article L. 145-2 of the Code de commerce lists the categories of tenants and premises to which the commercial lease statute applies even though the conditions of Article L. 145-1 are not fully met. These extensions are of two kinds: those written into the statute itself (extensions légales), and those that the parties can create contractually (extensions conventionnelles). Extending the statute confers all the statutory protections — nine-year minimum term, right to renewal, eviction indemnity — and all the statutory obligations.

Public Industrial and Commercial Enterprises (EPIC)

Public industrial and commercial enterprises (entreprises publiques à caractère industriel et commercial) benefit under Article L. 145-2, I, 3°. Before their nationalisation, these enterprises already benefited from the statute as commercial tenants — it would have been anomalous to withdraw that protection simply because of a change in ownership structure. Two conditions apply: the leased premises must be necessary to the pursuit of the enterprise's industrial or commercial activity; and the lease must not create any encroachment on the public domain.

The progressive transformation of many former EPIC into ordinary commercial companies (ENGIE, La Poste, France Télécom) has reduced the practical importance of this extension. A former EPIC that has become an ordinary commercial company no longer needs the extension — it qualifies under Article L. 145-1 directly. However, if such a transformation occurs, the administrative character of the original occupation convention does not automatically transmute into a commercial lease. If commercial lease status is wanted, a new lease must be negotiated.

Municipalities and Municipal Régies

Article L. 145-2, I, 2° extends the statute to leases granted by communes for premises used by services operated as a régie — an administrative body, with or without legal personality and financial autonomy, created by a municipality to carry out a public service mission (water and gas distribution, electricity, funeral services). The extension is relatively uncommon in practice. If the municipality subsequently entrusts the service to a commercial or artisan enterprise, a new commercial lease would need to be negotiated.

Educational Establishments

The extension under Article L. 145-2, I, 1° applies to both public and private institutions without distinction. What matters is the substance of the activity, not the legal form or profit motive. Three cumulative conditions apply: genuine teaching (enseignement véritable) with organised coursework by qualified teachers (Cass. com., 17 Dec. 1963); the activity must take place in the leased premises (distance learning does not qualify — Cass. 3e civ., 26 Feb. 1992); and where approval is required by law, the establishment must produce evidence of it (Cass. 3e civ., 14 Jan. 2004).

The category is broadly applied to schools, universities, and specialist training establishments. It does not cover leisure activities, holiday camps, sports associations, or cultural associations carrying on incidental educational activity. The extension applies without any requirement for RCS registration, even if the operating entity (a GIE, GEIE) would normally be subject to it (Cass. 3e civ., 21 Feb. 2007).

Graphic Artists and Plastic Artists

Article L. 145-2, I, 6° extends the statute to graphic artists and plastic artists who are admitted to contribute to the maison des artistes and are recognised as authors of graphic and plastic works as defined by CGI Annex III Article 98 A. Qualifying works include: paintings, collages, drawings, original engravings, lithographs, sculpture editions limited to eight copies, unique ceramic pieces, enamels, and photographs limited to thirty copies. This extension, introduced at the request of the Minister of Culture, has remained rare in practice. An artist who carries on some qualifying work in the leased premises can benefit even if the lease is not exclusively for artistic production (Cass. 3e civ., 21 Feb. 2007).

The Conventional Extension: How Liberal Professionals Can Opt In

The most practically important extension is the extension conventionnelle: the ability for parties to contractually place a lease under the commercial lease statute even though it would not normally qualify. This is most significant for liberal professionals — lawyers, doctors, architects, accountants — whose leases are ordinarily governed by the bail à usage exclusivement professionnel of Article 57 A of the Law of 23 December 1986.

The Problem the Extension Solves

Liberal professionals under the professional lease regime lack the same protections as commercial tenants: no eviction indemnity, different notice periods. Landlords in large cities, preferring the certainty of the commercial lease framework, often offered professionals commercial leases directly. But a professional cannot renounce a regime of ordre public before having acquired the rights under it. This created a legal trap: two sequential leases were required — the first under the applicable statute, then a second recording the waiver and adoption of the commercial lease regime. Some leases were inadvertently signed without following this sequence.

The Current Rule (Art. L. 145-2, I, 7° — Law of 4 August 2008)

Since the Law of 4 August 2008, the extension is expressly regulated. Article L. 145-2, I, 7° provides that the statute applies to leases of premises used exclusively for professional purposes when the parties have conventionally adopted this regime. The bail à usage exclusivement professionnel itself runs for a minimum of six years, renews tacitly for the same duration, and either party may give six months' notice of non-renewal at expiry.

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 before concluding or modifying a lease.