The elderly resident of an Éhpad, who is not a tenant, is not always responsible for the damage caused by a fire in his room. The residence contract signed with Éhpad is not a lease contract. This is what the Third Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation has just recalled in a judgment of 3 December 2020.
An elderly person shall conclude a residence contract with an Éhpad consisting of accommodation and the provision of medical services, services and care. A fire, the origin of which remained undetermined, broke out in his room. The insurer of Éhpad assigns the insurer of the pensioner on the basis of a tenant-landlord relationship. The Court of Appeal of Caen condemns the insurer of the elderly person in deciding that he is presumed responsible for the loss.
The Court of Cassation quashes and quashes the judgment of this Court of Appeal. It refers the parties to the Reims Court of Appeal. Rules and regulations The contract for the provision of daily services, from which the occupant is deprived of the freedom to use his room, is not a lease contract, even if the resident of Éhpad must take out home insurance. The pensioner is therefore not liable for the damage done.
