Unpaid rents affect 3.5% of rentals in France. Faced with this scourge, a legal, but unknown solution allows owners to recover their rents without going through the courts.
Being a lessor owner is sometimes to live with the anxiety of unpaid rents. This fear is unfortunately not unfounded: according to the latest official figures, the number of unpaid rents is established in France around 3.5%, a figure which may seem little but which is constantly increasing. In 2020, the rate was less than 1%. For an owner, this situation can quickly become a real financial ordeal. Between the monthly real estate credit monthly payments, the co -ownership charges and the maintenance work, the unpaids jeopardize their financial situation. The consequences can be heavy: difficulty in honoring your own deadlines, permanent stress and sometimes even, endangering the family heritage situation.
Faced with this situation, French justice certainly offers remedies, but the steps are often long and costly. It is first necessary to send a formal notice, then to seize the judicial court to obtain an expulsion judgment. This procedure can easily be spread over 18 to 24 months, or even more in the event of appeal. During all this time, rents continue to accumulate and the owner must bear the charges alone. Even when justice gives reason to the lessor, the execution of the judgment remains complex. This judicial slowness discourages many owners who sometimes prefer to negotiate unattractive arrangements …
However, there is an unknown, but formidably effective solution: authentic lease or notarial lease. According to the official website of the notaries of France, “The notarial lease is an authentic act, written and signed by the notary and the parties”. Its asset: in the event of unpaid, no need to go through the courts. As explained by the Notaires.fr site, “Thanks to the enforceable copy that the notary issues him, the lessor will be able to obtain the forced execution of the commitment of his tenant “ without the need for a court decision. Concretely, as Tristan Dosik, real estate expert, specifies, “If the tenant does not pay, you can mandate a court commissioner to directly seize the rent on his bank account or his salary. No need to obtain a judgment”. This procedure makes it possible to bypass usual legal slowness while providing maximum legal certainty.
To set up this device, simply make an appointment with a notary when signing the lease. Notarial costs, generally between 200 and 400 euros, represent a derisory investment compared to the financial risks of unpaids. “I always wondered why almost no one uses it? Probably because no one is talking about it!”wonders Tristan Dosik in a post LinkedIn. Our advice: ask your notary from your next rental investment. This precaution could avoid many inconveniences!
