A tenant who doesn’t pay their rent is what all landlords fear. But a simple measure allows you to protect yourself from this, from the moment you sign the lease.
It’s every owner’s dread. Many people even hesitate to invest in real estate for fear of coming across “bad clients”: a tenant who damages the property, or worse yet, who simply does not pay their rent. Since eviction is subject to numerous conditions in France, this can put more than one owner off guard.
Referral to a judge or a court commissioner, presence of a termination clause in the lease, delay of sometimes a year or more… To evict a tenant from a home, the procedure can be laborious, and it is better to be patient. This is why it is preferable to tackle the problem at the root, and to prevent unpaid rent when drawing up the lease. Yes, there is a simple precaution to take when signing, to ensure the owner does not lose money to a bad payer.
This measure is revealed by the specialized firm DZ Avocats Expulsions in a video shared on its TikTok account. Maître Samuel Zeitoun explains why all owners should cash the security deposit by check: “On the check, you have the account number. And you can make seizures directly on the tenant’s bank account, without having to seek authorization from the judge.” You must then go through a court commissioner (formerly called a bailiff), but this seizure must still be validated by a judge within 30 days. However, be careful: this method depends above all on the amount to be recovered. In fact, the public service specifies that certain amounts are unseizable. It is obligatory to leave at least 646.52 euros in the debtor’s bank account, and certain allowances cannot be seized, such as RSA, work accident compensation or even the activity bonus for example.
Concretely: if a tenant owes you 500 euros, but he only has 1000 euros in his account, you will not be able to seize more than 353.48 euros. And if he has less than 646.52 euros, no amount can be seized. A toll-free “SOS unpaid rent” number is available free of charge, for both owners and tenants, to obtain information specific to each situation.
