What is the limitation period for a rent debt?
Verified 02 July 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The owner of a rental unit can recover the unpaid charges and rents for 3 years, including after the departure of the tenant. The same is true if the tenant has paid too much. If the landlord has not completed the annual rent review, he has 1 year to react.
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Rent and/or expense liabilities
The landlord can claim for 3 years any outstanding charges or rent owed to him.
This deadline also applies to the tenant who has paid too much and wants to be reimbursed for the overpayment.
For example, a rent (or expense) debt from July 2021 can be claimed until July 2024.
Rent review
The owner can apply the annual rent review within one year of the date of the lease revision.
The rent review does not apply retroactively, but only from the date of the application.
When the one-year period has elapsed, the unapplied revision is lost for the owner.
Example :
If the review date is March 13, 2023, the landlord can review the rent until March 12, 2024.
However, if the landlord does not request it until June 13, 2023, only rents collected from that date can be reviewed.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
- Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
The informants who answer you belong to the ministry in charge of housing and city planning.
Cost: free service
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and therefore cannot provide information on their progress.
The service is available at the following times:
- Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m
- Departmental Agency for Housing Information (Adil)
- Law No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 on rental relationships: article 7-1Rent and expense liabilities
- Law No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 on rental relationships: article 17-1Annual rent review
- Civil Code: Article 2222Calculation of limitation period
- Law No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 for growth: article 82Application of the limitation period
- Letter to request a delay in paying a significant lease reminder
Document template
- Rent revision under lease (private sector housing)Service-Public.fr
- Annual rent reviewNational Agency for Housing Information (Anil)