Tenant evicted in rent v repairs row

A TENANT who withheld rent due to the poor condition of his home has failed to overturn an eviction order granted to his landlord on grounds of rent arrears.

Jeremy Lemaire occupied a one bedroom apartment in Hyères in the Var, which he rented from landlord Yanis Faure for €530 a month.

When he moved in there were repairs still to be undertaken but the landlord agreed to carry out works to bring the property up to a legally "decent" standard.

The minimum standard of what is “decent” is laid down in a decree dating from 2002.

Among other things it requires that the property is wind and watertight, safe to use, and equipped with a means of room heating, a kitchen sink with a supply of hot and cold water, bathroom facilities and an electricity supply.

Within a few months the tenant reported new defects as a result of which the landlord agreed to reduce the rent.

Nevertheless, as the landlord continued to fail to carry out the repairs, the tenant decided in July 2006 to withhold the rent.

With arrears mounting up, the landlord took court action for repossession as well as a claim for rent arrears.

The tenant contested the claim, arguing that the landlord had not honoured his obligations.

This was not a view that was supported by the court, who considered that a failure to make rental payments constituted a breach of the tenancy agreement, granting the landlord right to terminate the tenancy.

The final appeal court, the Cour de Cassation, has upheld the decision.

The landlord’s lawyer Nicholas Legrand told Connexion that the case illustrates the general rule in French law that a tenant is not automatically entitled to withhold payment of rent because the landlord is in breach of obligations.

“They must bring legal action to force the landlord to carry them out,” he said.

How to complain

If initial friendly approaches on the phone or by email/letter etc have failed you need to send a recorded delivery letter (lettre recommandée avec avis de réception) in which you refer to the problem and the steps already taken (phone calls, letter etc).

Ask for the work to be done within a certain timeframe (which should be reasonable for the kind of work) and state that if it is not done you will take action in the local tribunal d’instance (court).

You should state the letter is to be considered a mise en demeure (formal notice).

If the landlord still does not agree, in the case where you want to act under the “decency” rules, you should get a local public health (hygiène) official to check and report on the property, according to an adviser at one of the network of Adils (departmental property advice offices).

The adviser said your mairie or your Adil can assist (see www.anil.org and then click the map on the top right).

You should then apply to the local court. In most cases, according to the adviser, this is a fairly straightforward process that does not require a lawyer and is free of charge.

The court will usually oblige the landlord to act. You can support your claim with evidence like photos and, if appropriate, you will have the evidence of the person who did the hygiène check.

It is possible to pay a huissier (bailiff) to make a report on the state of the premises, but this is rarely essential.