Uncapping the rent of a French commercial lease (déplafonnement, the release of the renewal rent from the statutory cap) turns on one notion: a material change in the elements that make up rental value. Two decisions reported in the Bulletin in 2025 clarify its outlines: one on local commercial factors, the other on a new charge imposed on the landlord by statute. Both bear directly on the way a valuer builds their report.
First ruling: it is enough that the change is “likely to” favour the business
A lighting shop applied for renewal of its lease. The landlord accepted the principle but claimed an uncapped rent, relying on a material change in local commercial factors. The tenant argued that an actual, real effect of that change on its business had to be demonstrated.
The Cour de cassation (the French supreme court for civil and commercial matters) dismissed the appeal (Cass. 3e civ., 18 September 2025, appeal no. 24-13.288, reported). It held that it follows from articles L. 145-34 and R. 145-6 of the Commercial Code that a material change in local commercial factors is a ground for uncapping the rent of the renewed lease if it is likely to have a favourable effect on the commercial activity actually carried on by the tenant, regardless of its actual and real effect on the business operated in the premises.
In other words, the landlord does not have to prove that the tenant’s turnover has risen. The landlord must establish that the change in the district, in transport, in population or in amenities is of interest to the type of activity carried on in the premises. The link is assessed between the change and the activity, not between the change and the operator’s accounts.
Second ruling: a new statutory obligation on the landlord counts
In the second case, landlords sought to uncap the rent of premises in a building held in co-ownership. Among the elements retained by the Pau Court of Appeal was the change in the non-occupying owner’s civil liability insurance premium, which became compulsory in 2014 and rose from €644 in 2007 to €1,046.90 in 2015. The tenant objected that this insurance had been taken out voluntarily before it became compulsory, so that its increase did not result from the law.
The Cour de cassation dismissed the appeal (Cass. 3e civ., 23 January 2025, appeal no. 23-14.887, reported). It recalled that, under articles L. 145-33, 3°, and R. 145-8 of the Commercial Code, the respective obligations of the parties arising from statute and generating charges since the rent was last set may be relied on by the party that bears them. It concluded that the creation, during the expired lease, of a new statutory obligation on the landlord is an element to be taken into consideration in setting the rent of a commercial lease, and that this is the case of the non-occupying co-owner’s insurance obligation, introduced by article 58 of the Law of 24 March 2014 and written into article 9-1 of the Law of 10 July 1965. It makes no difference that the insurance had been taken out earlier. The Court of Appeal had also found that all the new statutory charges together had reduced the landlords’ rental income by 27.97 % during the expired lease, which it held, within its sovereign power of assessment, to be material.
What the valuer takes from it
An uncapping case is built on dated facts. For local commercial factors, this means documenting the change in the district between the last setting of the rent and the renewal: transport, footfall, population, retail brands, public amenities. The report must then explain how that change is of interest to the type of business carried on, without needing to go into the tenant’s accounts, even if those remain useful for assessing rental value itself.
The landlord’s charges are part of the analysis. The valuer identifies the statutory obligations that appeared during the expired lease and their cost, distinguishing what results from the law from what results from the owner’s choices. Comparing net rental income from one setting of the rent to the next gives the measure of materiality.
Uncapping does not set the rent. Once the principle is acquired, market rental value still has to be established, according to the definition of the Charte de l’expertise en évaluation immobilière (the French property valuation charter, 6th edition, November 2025, Title III, § 1.4) and EVS 1 of the European Valuation Standards 2025, from rent references reduced to a weighted floor area. Since the Law of 18 June 2014, the increase is in principle smoothed at 10 % a year in the cases of material change and of a clause on the term (article L. 145-34, last paragraph), except for leases tacitly extended beyond twelve years.
Further reading
The Commercial rent and leases page describes the assignment, its timescale and its fee. On the same theme: French commercial lease beyond twelve years: no rent smoothing and Commercial rent: the impact of a tramway and changes in customer flows. Both decisions are available on Légifrance: 18 September 2025 and 23 January 2025.
What next
Is a commercial lease renewal coming up with uncapping under discussion?
Landlord or tenant, I check whether a material change can be demonstrated and I quantify the rental value with verifiable references. Quotes are free, by email or phone.
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