The rent is paid on time

Farmland owners enter into a lease agreement with a farmer. The contract provides for the payment of the lease in the year in installments, according to quarterly deadlines, and not an annual payment. Since the landlords did not receive several payments, they brought an action before the Joint Rural Lease Court for a judicial termination of the lease.

The court granted their request. It terminates the lease, orders the return of unpaid rents, evicts the farmer and asks him to pay the owners an occupancy compensation equal to the amount of the rents provided for in the lease until the site is liberated.

Before the Court of Appeal, the farmer defends himself by claiming to be up to date with the regulations. As soon as the lease was signed, he stated that he had already paid the owners a sum of money in cash to compensate them for the third party's anticipated future deadlines for the year.

The Court of Cassation dismisses the farmer's appeal. It recalls that the landlord can request the termination of the lease if he can prove two defaults that persisted three months after a formal notice. It also clarifies that in an expired term lease, the lease is not payable before its expiry, regardless of whether the farmer has already made a down payment.