“My tenant was ordered to pay the unpaid rent and leave the apartment. Only, it was too late, because of the winter break…”. “A couple had barely taken possession of the house I was renting when they increased their arrears to various suppliers (gas, plumber) and stopped paying me the entire rent at the start of the winter break”. “My tenant stopped paying the rent. I am waiting for the court’s response to a request forexpulsion but, with the winter break, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sell my house.”. If the winter break, which will begin this Saturday, November 1, is a relief for tenants, it is however synonymous with extended deadlines for owners, when they find themselves facing unpaid rent and seeking to recover the accommodation.
But the law is the law. The winter break, which will end on March 31, 2026, “is the period during which the procedures for eviction of a tenant by an owner are suspended”recalls Public Service. This, “even if the owner has a court decision in his favor”adds the website. And the winter break applies for any reason for eviction, whether unpaid rent or non-compliance with co-ownership regulations. Consequence, breaking the winter break by trying to force your tenant to leave “constitutes an offense for the owner”warns the National Agency for Housing Information (Anil). An offense punishable by three years in prison and fine of 30,000 eurosshe adds.
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Exceptions to the winter break
However, there are situations to which the winter break does not apply. This is for example the case when your tenants are guaranteed to benefit from rehousing corresponding to their family needs. The same goes for residents of housing located in a building affected by a safety orderthe new name for the peril order. THE squatters neither are they protected by the winter break, whether they occupy your main residence, your secondary residence, your garage or a simple plot of land.
The winter break does not apply either to the spouse whose expulsion from the marital home has been ordered by the family court judge, as part of the non-conciliation order in divorce proceedings. And even less for the violent spouse within the couple or on a child, and whose expulsion from the family home has been ordered by the family judge as part of a protection order.
The winter break does not prevent the procedures
If your tenant, who no longer pays the rent, does not fall under one of these exceptions, you will have to wait until March 31 to recover your property. However, in the event of unpaid rent, the winter break in no way prevents you from taking steps to recover the amounts due, specifies Anil. You can thus turn to your tenant’s guarantorsend the latter an order to pay or go to court to initiate eviction proceedings. While keeping in mind, in the latter case, that if an expulsion decision is made by the judge, its execution will be deferred until after the end of the winter break. Furthermore, this does not eliminate rent debts accumulated by your tenant. During the winter break, he must begin or continue the process of repaying his rental debt.
