Landlords: Take note of this French tenancy rule
If you rent out a home, watch out for locataire protégé rules
Tenants in France can claim protected tenant status under certain conditions
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A recent case in which a property owner was unable to get rid of a tenant has highlighted the rules around locataire protégé (protected tenant) status.
Renters can claim the status if they are over 65 years old (or have someone in their household who is over 65), have modest income and the home is their main residence.
It means that their rental contract (bail) is renewed automatically when it expires – most bails in France are for three years.
In a case which made national news, a couple living in Réunion rented out a house they had built in a small Vendée seaside town in 2019.
When they asked the tenant, then aged 70, to leave so they could sell the house, he refused because the couple had not provided alternative accommodation at a similar rent within five kilometres of the property.
The couple claimed they needed to sell the house to finance their children' s university expenses.
They took the tenant to court to try evicting him, but he won under the locataire protégé rules, and they had to pay his legal costs.
An estate agent advising the couple said he was “shocked” by the decision – even though locataire protégé rules have been inscribed in French law for decades.
Definition of modest income
‘Modest income’ usually refers to people with revenue at or below the Smic minimum wage, which in 2025 is set at €1,801 a month.
Under France’s pension system, a significant proportion of pensioners get less than this amount.
If a tenant has protected status, it is forbidden to simply end the bail when it expires and ask them to leave the property.
Instead, the landlord must make alternative arrangements for them, which the tenant should agree to.
A tenant who was not in the modest income band, or who was younger than 65 at the time the bail was signed, can still be granted protected status if they pass the age of 65, or see a drop in their revenue.
Easier rules for getting rid of locataire protégé tenants exist if the owner of the property is over 65 years old and has a modest income.
In all other cases the owner must propose a rehousing option to the tenant.
This should correspond with the needs and the financial means of the tenant, with case law determining that a distance of up to 5km from the former rented property is suitable.
Locataire protégé status is lost if the tenant commits a serious breach of the bail contract, such as not paying the rent.
If the owner wants to get rid of the protected tenant in order to sell the property, special conditions apply and an expulsion order can be made by the courts.
Again, a rehousing option must be proposed, but if it is not accepted the owner can start formal proceedings to get the tenant out.
A letter ending the contract should state the reason, the price of the property and a brief description of it, as well as the conditions of the rehousing offer which have been made.
This will serve as a basis for the court bid to have the tenant removed.
One other strange aspect of the law is that age and revenue are the only criteria for locateur protégé status, not any other criteria, for instance disability.
Different laws give disabled people protection from ending up on the street, but if the disabled person is over 65 and of modest means, they, or their advisers, can decide which part of the law best applies to them.
