Rental: can you shorten your departure notice in the event of a health problem?

The law provides that tenants have the possibility of asking their lessor for a reduction in the notice period in the event of termination of their rental lease in certain specific cases. Particularly for health reasons.

• 
  

  To safeguard
  
  
  

  Saved
  

They tried to cheat but their ploy didn’t work. In 2021, a couple of tenants who wanted to leave their accommodation sent a false medical certificate to their landlord, in order to reduce the duration of notice of his residential lease. The law provides that a tenant can benefit from reduced notice in certain situations, notably for health reasons. The lessor accepted the handover of the keys, carried out an exit inventory and let the tenants leave the premises. But he realized, after contacting the Order of Physicians, that it was a false document.

The owner then went to court against the former tenants, to recover the security deposit increased by 10%, as well as damages. Justice finally ruled in his favor as reported by the newspaper Le Figarosince the Court of Cassation censored in November 2024 the first judgment of the Nancy High Court, which was favorable to the tenants, on the grounds that “fraud committed by a party excludes any legal effect favorable to that party, even in the event of behavior by the co-contractor likely to be interpreted as a waiver.

A medical certificate to send to the lessor

So, in what case a tenant can he request a reduction in the notice period for his residential lease for medical reasons? As a reminder, with regard to empty accommodation, the standard notice period is set by law at three months, unless the accommodation is located in a tense area. In this case, the notice period is reduced to one month, as for furnished accommodation. But be careful, a tenant of empty accommodation located in a relaxed zone has the possibility of benefiting from a notice period reduced to one month, instead of three months, in certain specific situations, in particular for health reasons, as provided for in the Article 15 of Law No. 89-462 of July 6, 1989 governing rental relationships.

>> Our service – Save money by testing our home loan insurance comparator

Thus, if the state of health of the tenant or a member of their household makes it impossible to continue the rental, this may justify a reduced notice period. This reason must be supported by a medical certificate detailing the need to change accommodation for health reasons. For example, if the accommodation becomes unsuitable for the tenant (absence of elevator, impassable stairs, etc.). To request a reduction of the notice period to one month, the tenant must notify the lessor by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, attaching to the letter the necessary medical evidence to attest to the situation. A medical certificate is therefore essential. Then, the one month notice period begins from receipt of the letter by the lessor.