A landlord can have his neighbor's lease terminated

A lease of a commercial premises is concluded between an owner and a company for the sale, rental and repair of mopeds. As the activity generates nuisances, a neighboring owner takes legal action to have the lease terminated and the business evicted due to the inaction of the owner of the premises. The latter brings the case before the Cour d'appel de Paris for infringing his freedom of contract because the neighbor is a third party to the lease contract. He said he could not interfere with that contract. However, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the neighbor on the basis of theoblique action.

The Court of Cassation, seised by the owner of the premises and the tenant, shares this opinion.

L'oblique action allows the creditor to exercise the rights and actions of his debtor if, by not exercising them, he causes him harm. This is the case for the Court of Cassation, which finds that the owner of the premises did not enforce the condominium regulation on his tenant.

The negligent landlord, having not imposed on his tenant the respect of a regulation, may be terminated by the legal action of a neighbor landlord.