3-6-9 Commercial Lease: Complete Guide 2026

The 3-6-9 commercial lease (bail commercial 3 6 9) is one of the major issues for any trader, craftsperson or liberal professional wishing to settle in premises for the long term. Among the different types of commercial lease, the 3-6-9 commercial lease is the default regime, offering a balance between security for the tenant and flexibility for the owner. Understanding the rules of the commercial lease and how it works is essential to avoid the legal and financial pitfalls that can jeopardise your business.

What is a 3-6-9 commercial lease?

Definition and general principle of the commercial lease

The 3-6-9 commercial lease takes its name from its statutory minimum term of 9 years, with the possibility for the tenant to terminate early at the 3 and 6-year points. This regime, governed by Articles L.145-1 et seq. of the French Commercial Code, aims to protect the business (fonds de commerce) while allowing a degree of flexibility in the lease relationship.

This form of commercial lease applies automatically to lettings of buildings or premises in which a commercial, industrial or craft activity is carried on. The legislature wished to create a protective statute allowing the tenant to develop their business with peace of mind.

The activities covered by the 3-6-9 commercial lease

Under Article L. 145-1 of the French Commercial Code, the 3-6-9 commercial lease covers:

• leases of buildings or premises in which a business is operated, whether the business belongs to a trader or industrialist registered in the trade and companies register, or to the head of a business in the trades and crafts sector registered in the national register of businesses (registre national des entreprises);
• leases of premises or buildings ancillary to the operation of a business, where deprivation of them would be liable to jeopardise the operation of the business, on the conditions of point 1° of Article L. 145-1;
• leases of bare land on which buildings for commercial, industrial or craft use have been erected, with the express consent of the owner.

Article L. 145-2 also extends the statute to other situations, in particular to leases of premises housing educational establishments and to leases of premises for exclusively professional use where the parties have contractually adopted this regime.

The regulated liberal professions (lawyers, notaries, doctors) generally fall under other professional lease regimes, subject to specific exceptions. On the distinction between these two statuses and the factors that guide the choice, see our article on how to choose between a commercial lease and a professional lease.

Term and mechanism of the three-yearly break points in a commercial lease

The 9-year minimum rule for the commercial lease

Contrary to popular belief, a commercial lease does not necessarily last 9 years. That is a minimum term imposed by law (Article L. 145-4 of the French Commercial Code). The 3-6-9 commercial lease may be concluded for a longer term, but never for less than 9 years: any clause to the contrary is deemed unwritten (Article L. 145-15), subject to the derogatory lease (bail dérogatoire) of a total term not exceeding three years provided for in Article L. 145-5. The provisions to examine before committing to this term are reviewed in our article on the clauses to check in a template 3-6-9 commercial lease.

This minimum term gives the business tenant sufficient stability to amortise their investments and build up their customer base. It is a fundamental element of the right to renewal, the cornerstone of the business tenant's protection.

The early termination points of the commercial lease

The business tenant has a unilateral right to terminate at the end of each three-year period, subject to six months' notice (Article L. 145-4, paragraph 2, of the French Commercial Code). This option allows the tenant to adapt the length of their commitment to the development of their business.

Conditions for three-yearly termination of the commercial lease:

• notice is given at least six months before the end of the three-year period;
• it is notified by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or by extrajudicial instrument (acte extrajudiciaire, served by a commissaire de justice (bailiff));
• leases concluded for a term of more than nine years, leases of premises built for a single use, of premises for exclusive use as offices and of certain storage premises may exclude this option by a contrary provision;
• a tenant who has applied to claim retirement rights or who has been granted an invalidity pension may give notice in the same form and within the same time limits, without waiting for the three-year point.

The landlord, for its part, may give notice at the end of a three-year period only if it intends to rely on Articles L. 145-18, L. 145-21, L. 145-23-1 and L. 145-24 of the French Commercial Code in order to build, rebuild or add storeys to the building, to reassign ancillary residential premises to that use, to convert a building mainly used for residential purposes, to carry out works as part of a property restoration operation or in the event of demolition as part of an urban renewal project (Article L. 145-4, paragraph 3).

Commercial lease renewal: your rights and obligations

The right to renew the commercial lease

The renewal of a commercial lease is one of the tenant's most important rights. The owner may refuse to renew a commercial lease that has reached its expiry date, but must then, except in the cases provided for in Articles L. 145-17 et seq. of the French Commercial Code, pay the evicted tenant eviction compensation (indemnité d'éviction) equal to the loss caused by the failure to renew (Article L. 145-14).

This right to renewal is attached to the operation of a business in the leased premises. It protects the asset value of the business and ensures the continuity of the commercial activity. The conditions, time limits and remedies attached to this right are set out in our guide to the renewal of a commercial lease after 9 years.

Procedure for renewing the commercial lease

The request for renewal of the commercial lease must comply with precise formalities:

Time limits to observe for renewal:

• where the landlord has not given notice, the tenant makes the request in the six months preceding the expiry of the lease or, where applicable, at any time during its extension (Article L. 145-10);
• the landlord has three months from notification to state its reasoned refusal by extrajudicial instrument; failing that, it is deemed to have accepted the principle of renewal;
• a tenant who intends to challenge the refusal or claim eviction compensation must bring proceedings before the court within two years from the date on which the refusal is served;
• the renewed lease, for a term of nine years unless a longer term is agreed, takes effect on expiry of the previous lease or of its extension (Article L. 145-12).

Mandatory content of the request for renewal:

• the request is notified to the landlord by extrajudicial instrument or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; it may be addressed to the manager, who is deemed to have authority to receive it;
• on pain of nullity, it must reproduce the terms of the paragraph of Article L. 145-10 concerning the three-month response period and its effects.

Grounds for refusing renewal of the commercial lease

The owner may refuse renewal without paying eviction compensation in strictly limited circumstances:

Legitimate grounds for refusing renewal:

• a serious and legitimate ground against the outgoing tenant; where it concerns non-performance of an obligation or cessation of the business without serious and legitimate reason, the breach may be relied on only if it has continued or recurred more than one month after formal notice by extrajudicial instrument (Article L. 145-17, I, 1°);
• the building must be wholly or partly demolished because it has been found unfit for habitation by the administrative authority, or can no longer be occupied safely because of its condition (Article L. 145-17, I, 2°);
• recovery of the ancillary residential premises alone in order to house the landlord or their relatives, on the conditions of Article L. 145-22.

The owner may also refuse renewal in order to build or rebuild the existing building, but must then pay the eviction compensation, unless it offers the tenant premises corresponding to their needs and means, in an equivalent location (Article L. 145-18). It may also defer renewal for no more than three years in order to add storeys to the building, in return for compensation equal to the loss suffered, not exceeding three years' rent (Article L. 145-21).

Commercial rent review: mechanisms and calculations

The three-yearly review of commercial rent

The rent under a commercial lease may be revised at the request of either party (Article L. 145-37 of the French Commercial Code). The request may be made only at least three years after the date on which the tenant took possession or after the start date of the renewed lease, and then every three years; the review takes effect from the date of the request (Article L. 145-38). It is therefore not automatic. The parties may also stipulate a sliding-scale clause (clause d'échelle mobile) indexing the rent to the commercial rent index (ILC) or to the tertiary activities rent index (ILAT).

Unless there is proof of a material change in the local commerciality factors (facteurs locaux de commercialité), the change in rent resulting from a three-yearly review may not exceed the change in the reference index since the last agreed or court-determined setting of the rent. The capped rent is calculated as follows:

Capped revised rent = Current rent × (Review index / Index at the last setting of the rent)

The cap on rent review

By way of derogation from the rental value rule, the increase or decrease in rent resulting from a three-yearly review may not exceed the change in the ILC or ILAT since the last agreed or court-determined setting of the rent (Article L. 145-38, paragraph 3). This mechanism protects the tenant against excessive increases.

Exceptions to the rent cap:

• proof of a material change in the local commerciality factors which has of itself caused a change of more than 10% in the rental value (Article L. 145-38);
• where there is a sliding-scale clause, a review may be requested whenever the rent has been increased or decreased by more than a quarter compared with the price previously set (Article L. 145-39);
• in both cases, the resulting change may not lead to increases exceeding, for any one year, 10% of the rent paid in the previous year.

Rent review on renewal of the commercial lease

On renewal of the commercial lease, the rent is in principle capped: its change may not exceed that of the ILC or ILAT since the initial setting of the rent under the expired lease (Article L. 145-34 of the French Commercial Code). The cap is disapplied in the event of a notable change in the characteristics of the premises, the use of the premises, the parties' respective obligations or the local commerciality factors, where the lease was concluded for more than nine years or where, through tacit extension, its term exceeds twelve years. The rent is then set at the rental value; in the event of a notable change or a clause relating to the term of the lease, the resulting increase may not exceed, for any one year, 10% of the rent paid in the previous year.

Assignment and subletting of the commercial lease: what the law says

Assignment of the commercial lease

The business tenant may assign their commercial lease as part of the sale of their business. Agreements intended to prohibit the tenant from assigning the lease to the purchaser of their business or undertaking are deemed unwritten (Article L. 145-16 of the French Commercial Code); the lease may, however, regulate the terms of the assignment of the commercial lease.

Procedure for assigning the lease:

• comply with the formalities provided for in the lease, within the limits of Article L. 145-16;
• draw up an inventory of condition (état des lieux) when the assignee takes possession (Article L. 145-40-1);
• where the assignor guarantees the assignee's obligations to the landlord, the landlord must inform the assignor of any default in payment within one month and may rely on that guarantee only for three years from the assignment (Articles L. 145-16-1 and L. 145-16-2).

Conditions for commercial subletting

Commercial subletting is possible on certain strict conditions:

• unless the lease provides otherwise or the landlord agrees, any subletting, in whole or in part, is prohibited (Article L. 145-31);
• the tenant must notify the owner of their intention to sublet by extrajudicial instrument or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; the owner has fifteen days to say whether it intends to take part in the instrument;
• where the subletting rent exceeds the principal rent, the owner may require a corresponding increase in the principal rent.

Unauthorised subletting is a ground for terminating the commercial lease and may justify refusal of renewal.

Termination and change of use of the commercial lease

Grounds for terminating the commercial lease

The 3-6-9 commercial lease may be terminated before its expiry in several situations:

Termination by the business tenant:

• notice at the end of a three-year period, at least six months in advance (Article L. 145-4);
• the notice available to a tenant who has been admitted to retirement or granted an invalidity pension;
• termination for the landlord's non-performance, by application of a termination clause (clause résolutoire), by notification or by court decision (Article 1224 of the French Civil Code).

Termination by the owner:

• enforcement of the termination clause, which takes effect only one month after a payment demand has gone unanswered (Article L. 145-41 of the French Commercial Code);
• termination by the court for sufficiently serious non-performance by the tenant (Article 1224 of the French Civil Code);
• three-yearly notice limited to the construction, rebuilding, addition of storeys or restoration operations referred to in Article L. 145-4, paragraph 3.

Change of use of the commercial lease

The business tenant may ask to carry on an activity different from the one provided for in the lease, under two separate procedures:

Partial change of use (déspécialisation partielle): Adding to the activity provided for in the lease related or complementary activities. The tenant notifies the owner of their intention by extrajudicial instrument or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; the owner has two months in which to challenge, on pain of forfeiture, the related or complementary nature of the activities (Article L. 145-47).

Full change of use (déspécialisation plénière): Carrying on activities different from those provided for in the lease. The request, made by extrajudicial instrument or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, is notified to the registered creditors; a landlord who has not replied within three months is deemed to have acquiesced, and the judicial court (tribunal judiciaire) may authorise the change despite its refusal if the refusal is not justified by a serious and legitimate ground (Articles L. 145-48, L. 145-49 and L. 145-52).

The parties' respective obligations under the commercial lease

Obligations of the landlord

The commercial landlord must in particular:

• deliver the thing let, maintain it in a condition fit for the use for which it was let and ensure that the tenant enjoys it peacefully (Article 1719 of the French Civil Code);
• attach to the lease a precise and exhaustive inventory of the categories of charges, taxes, duties and fees, with their apportionment, and send an annual summary statement (Article L. 145-40-2 of the French Commercial Code);
• provide, when the lease is concluded and then every three years, a forecast statement of the works planned and a summary statement of the works carried out.

Obligations of the business tenant

The business tenant undertakes to:

• pay the rent on the agreed dates and use the premises reasonably, in accordance with the use provided for in the lease (Article 1728 of the French Civil Code);
• actually operate the business, operation during the three years preceding the expiry of the lease being, except for legitimate reasons, a condition of the right to renewal (Article L. 145-8 of the French Commercial Code);
• not sublet without authorisation and change the activity only by following the change-of-use procedure;
• return the premises in accordance with the exit inventory of condition (Article L. 145-40-1).

Practical advice for your commercial lease

On signing the commercial lease

The tenant checks the use clause, the term and any provisions excluding the option of three-yearly termination, the inventory of charges and the apportionment of works required by Article L. 145-40-2 of the French Commercial Code, and the entry inventory of condition provided for in Article L. 145-40-1.

During the term of the commercial lease

Each party monitors the three-yearly dates, which open the tenant's option to give notice and the request for a rent review (Articles L. 145-4 and L. 145-38). Where the premises are intended for retail or wholesale trade or for services of a commercial or craft nature, a tenant who is up to date with payments may claim monthly payment of rent as of right (Article L. 145-32-1, introduced by Act No. 2026-403 of 26 May 2026).

At the end of the commercial lease

Notice must be given at least six months in advance by extrajudicial instrument (Article L. 145-9); where no notice is given, the tenant may request renewal in the six months preceding the expiry of the lease or at any time during its extension (Article L. 145-10). A tenant who challenges the notice or claims eviction compensation must bring proceedings before the court within two years. An exit inventory of condition is drawn up when the premises are returned (Article L. 145-40-1).

The 3-6-9 commercial lease represents a delicate balance between the interests of the owner and those of the business tenant. Mastering it requires a thorough knowledge of the legislation and case law on the commercial lease. Given the technical nature of these rules and the financial stakes, the assistance of a professional in commercial property law is often useful to secure transactions.