French law grants strong security of tenure to tenants who occupy a property as their principal home. They have a legal right to a minimum rental period, whatever the duration stated in the letting contract, and there are only limited grounds on which a landlord can terminate the tenancy.

In relation to older tenants even tougher conditions apply, for if the landlord wishes to terminate the tenancy on grounds other than a breach of the conditions of the tenancy they may also have to find commensurate alternative accommodation for their tenant.

The rehousing obligation applies if the tenant is at least 65 years of age at the termination date of the tenancy, and their income is less than a minimum threshold.

It also applies if the tenant is under 65 but has someone living with them who meets the age condition. So, for instance, it would apply a 50-year old tenant who was looking after his 70 year old mother living with him.

The income threshold to qualify for rehousing for a person living along is €25,165 in the Ile-de-France and €21,165 in the provinces. Higher thresholds apply for additional family members.

The obligation applies to both furnished and unfurnished lettings, provided the property is the tenant's main residence.

The law also requires that the new accommodation is located in proximity to the existing rented accommodation, either in the same municipality, or in a neighbouring municipality, no more than 5km away.

In a recent case heard by the Constitutional Council (CC) a couple sought a ruling on whether the obligation to rehouse within proximity to the rented property was constitutional, arguing that it deprived them of the right to repossess their house, and thus unconstitutionally infringed on their right to property.

The property in question was located in an area where finding a suitable rehousing offer would be unlikely.

The CC ruled that the provisions of proximity to rehousing did not disproportionately infringe on the right to property, compared to the constitutional objective of ensuring everyone had decent housing.

In addition, the difficulty of submitting an offer of relocation in an area of housing stress did not make it unconstitutional.

Accordingly, as a landlord if you do not respect the provisions of the law, any notice served on tenants who may be protected by it would be invalid, and the lease would be automatically renewed.

However, judges do not require that offers of relocation be presented to the tenant at the same time as the notice is given. It is possible that they can be sent during the notice period.

In addition, as is frequently the case in French law, there is a major exception to the rehousing obligation. If the landlord is aged at least 65 years, or their own household income is below the threshold figures cited above, no such obligation arises.

The waiver of the rehousing condition on income grounds applies irrespective of the age of the landlord.