Three-Year Review Checklist
Calculate the earliest date for the review notice (three years and one day from the last rent-fixing event) and act on that day. The revised rent takes effect from the date of notice, not retroactively — every month of delay is lost revised rent.
The notice must state a specific rent figure — a formula without a number is void under Art. R. 145-20 C. com. State an amount above the calculated capped figure. The figure in the notice sets the ceiling for retroactive effect if the claim is later increased (Art. R. 145-21 C. com.).
The default capped review uses the ILC or ILAT index (depending on the tenant’s activity). Clauses restricting the review to one direction, altering its timing, or substituting non-statutory indices are unwritten. There is no limitation period for challenging them (Cass. 3e civ., 16 November 2023).
To break the cap: prove a concrete, physical change in the local trading environment (Art. R. 145-6 C. com.) that has moved rental value by more than 10% since the last fixing. General economic trends, pandemic impacts, and tenant-generated improvements do not qualify.
Even where uncapping is established: the Pinel Act limits the annual increase to 10% of the preceding year’s rent (plafonnement du déplafonnement, Art. L. 145-38, al. 3). In court proceedings: serve the notice before filing the first submission — failure to do so makes the claim inadmissible (Cass. 3e civ., 26 January 2017).

The Three-Year Review: Distinct from Indexation

Two mechanisms govern rent movement during a French commercial lease term. The statutory three-year review (révision triennale légale) under Article L. 145-38 C. com. is a right either party can exercise at any time after three years have elapsed since the last rent-fixing event. It operates independently of any lease clause. The indexation clause (clause d’échelle mobile) is a contractual mechanism that adjusts the rent automatically at agreed intervals by reference to an index. An indexed rent can itself be reviewed under the statutory mechanism, but the two are governed by different rules and different indices.

The three-year review is of mandatory application (ordre public): any clause that restricts it, modifies its timing, specifies non-statutory indices, or provides that it can only apply upward is unwritten. Since the Pinel Act 2014, challenging such clauses is not subject to any limitation period (Cass. 3e civ., 19 November 2020; Cass. 3e civ., 16 November 2023).

Timing the Review: When the Right Arises and Why Acting Early Matters

The right to request a review arises three years and one day after the triggering event. The relevant triggering events are: the date the tenant took effect of the lease; the starting date of any renewed lease; or the date a previously agreed rent variation came into effect. Annual indexation adjustments do not count as a new rent-fixing event and do not reset the three-year clock.

The three-year period expires on the anniversary day of the triggering event in the third year, calculated under Art. 641 al. 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If that day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, the deadline is pushed to the next working day. A notice served before three years and one day have elapsed is void (Cass. 3e civ., 23 February 1994). A notice served one day late starts a new three-year period running from that later date.

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Warning — The Revised Rent Is Only Due From the Date of the Notice

The revised rent takes effect from the date the notice is served — not retroactively. A party who waits an extra year before serving their notice loses twelve months of the revised rent. Given that the review can only be claimed for the future, acting on the first available day matters considerably.

Special Cases

The three-year clock runs from the date the lease took effect, not from the end of the last rent step in a stepped-rent lease. A review can be served during tacit extension of a lease, provided three years and one day have elapsed since the last rent-fixing event. Once a renewal notice or renewal request has been served, the review mechanism for the expiring lease is blocked. A fresh review right arises three years after the starting date of the renewed lease, even if the renewal rent has not yet been fixed by agreement or by the court.

Serving the Notice: Form, Content, and the Figure That Binds You

The notice must be served either by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (effective date: date of dispatch, not receipt: Cass. 3e civ., 22 April 1980) or by bailiff’s act. The notice must state a specific rent figure — the amount demanded or offered — required under Art. R. 145-20 on pain of nullity. A formula such as “the legally revised rent in accordance with index movement” is not sufficient. In practice the exact index figure for the relevant quarter is not yet published at the time of serving; the party must therefore state a provisional figure based on the last published index.

The figure stated in the notice has a binding ceiling effect: if the court fixes a rent above the amount originally requested, the higher rent only takes effect from the date the updated position was notified — not from the date of the original notice (Art. R. 145-21). The landlord has every reason to state a high provisional figure rather than a conservative one.

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Practical Point — Stating the Notice Figure

State an amount comfortably above the calculated capped figure. Use the most recent published index as the basis, add a margin anticipating upward index movement, and make clear the figure is provisional pending publication of the relevant quarterly index. Once the index is published, calculate the exact capped rent and, if the judicial procedure has been engaged, notify the updated figure promptly to preserve the effective date.

The Capped Review: Index Movement as the Default Rule

Unless a party can prove that material changes in local trading conditions have caused the rental value to move by more than 10%, the revised rent is capped to index variation. This is the rule in the overwhelming majority of reviews.

Capped Revised Rent Formula (Art. L. 145-38 C. com.)
Revised rent = Current rent × (Index at date of notice ÷ Index at date of last rent-fixing)
Index at date of notice = ILC or ILAT for the quarter in which the notice is served.
Index at date of last fixing = ILC or ILAT for the quarter corresponding to the lease start date (first review) or previous review date.
ILC applies to commercial and artisanal activities; ILAT applies to tertiary sector activities.

The parties cannot contractually substitute different indices or different quarters for the calculation — doing so would make the clause unwritten.

The Double Limit: Floor and Ceiling When Market Value Falls Between Them

Where neither party can establish a 10% shift in commercial conditions, the capped review operates within a double limit established by case law following the MURCEF Act 2001: the revised rent is fixed at market value, but market value is constrained between the current rent (floor) and the index-calculated figure (cap).

  • If market value exceeds the cap: the revised rent is the cap
  • If market value is between floor and cap: the revised rent is market value
  • If market value is below the current rent: the revised rent is the current rent (floor)

For leases with a regular indexation clause, the Court of Cassation has held that the floor is the most recently indexed rent, not the original contractual rent (Cass. 3e civ., 20 May 2015). The practical effect is that for indexed leases the floor and cap will be approximately equal — meaning the review produces no change — unless the indices used in the indexation clause differ from those used for the statutory review.

Breaking the Cap: Material Change in Local Trading Conditions

A party seeking a rent above the cap (or below the floor) must prove that a material change (modification matérielle) in the local trading factors has by itself caused the rental value to shift by more than 10%. Even where this is established, the Pinel Act capped any resulting annual increase to 10% of the rent paid in the preceding year (plafonnement du déplafonnement).

What Counts as a Material Change

The local trading factors are defined in Art. R. 145-6 C. com. A material change must be a concrete, tangible physical transformation of the trading environment: new transport links, closure or opening of a metro station, changes in parking availability, arrival or disappearance of significant neighbouring commercial activity, new construction. The change must have occurred since the last rent-fixing event and must be relevant to the specific type of commerce operated from the premises.

Courts have consistently refused to recognise as material changes: the mere arrival of new retailers in the catchment area (CA Paris, 24 November 2004); a decline in tourist footfall (CA Versailles, 12 December 2019); general economic conditions or the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic unless they produced a concrete physical impact meeting the 10% threshold.

Tenant Investment Is Excluded

Any increase in rental value attributable to the tenant’s own investment — fit-out, business development, reputation — is expressly excluded from the rental value calculation under Art. L. 145-38. Only changes in the external environment count. Investments made under a prior lease may, however, be taken into account if they have transferred to the landlord through accession.

Disputed Reviews: Procedure and the Forfeiture Clause

Where the parties cannot agree on the revised rent, either party can refer the matter to the commercial rent judge (juge des loyers commerciaux). The procedure is conducted on written submissions (mémoires). The referral must be made before the two-year prescription period under Art. L. 145-60 expires. The notice to the tenant must be served before the initial submission to the court — serving the notice after the first submission makes the claim inadmissible (Cass. 3e civ., 26 January 2017, n° 16-10.304).

During the court procedure, the tenant is not obliged to pay the revised rent the landlord is claiming if it has not been accepted or judicially fixed. A failure to pay an unaccepted, unfixed revised rent does not trigger the lease forfeiture clause (CA Versailles, 18 February 2014).

Practical Checklist: Serving and Contesting a Three-Year Review Notice
Step 1 — Calculate the earliest date and diary it: identify the precise triggering event (lease start, renewal start, or prior revision date) and calculate three years and one day forward. If the day falls on a weekend or public holiday, move to the next working day. Do not serve early — a premature notice is void and a new three-year period starts from the corrected date.
Step 2 — Identify the correct index and multiplier quarter: determine whether the tenant’s activity falls under the ILC (commercial/artisanal) or ILAT (tertiary). Obtain the most recent published index for the quarter in which the notice is served. Use the index for the quarter corresponding to the original triggering event as the divisor.
Step 3 — Draft the notice with a specific provisional figure: calculate the capped rent using the formula. State a provisional figure above the calculated cap with a clear statement that it is provisional pending the relevant quarterly index publication. Serve by registered letter (keep dispatch proof) or bailiff’s act.
Step 4 — If seeking to break the cap, commission evidence of local trading change: instruct a local commercial valuation expert to identify and document concrete physical changes in the trading environment since the last fixing. Assess whether the change is sufficient to move rental value by more than 10%. Do not rely on general economic arguments or pandemic impact without specific physical evidence.
Step 5 — If escalating to court: serve the notice before the first submission: the notice must be served before filing the first mémoire — not after. Confirm the two-year Art. L. 145-60 prescription period has not expired. If a forfeiture clause is in play: the tenant’s failure to pay an unaccepted, unfixed revised rent does not trigger the clause.
Seeking or Resisting a Three-Year Rent Review?

Timing errors, a defective notice figure, or a failure to gather the right evidence of commercial change can each be fatal to a review claim. We advise landlords and tenants on the full review procedure from notice to court, including the assessment of whether uncapping is a realistic prospect.

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Legal Notice. This article is for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. Laws and regulations may have changed since publication. Always seek qualified French legal advice before serving or responding to a three-year rent review notice.