French Commercial Lease Inspection Report

Yes. The Loi Pinel of 18 June 2014 made the état des lieux (joint property inventory) compulsory for all commercial leases under Article L145-40-1 of the Code de commerce. The obligation applies to any lease concluded, renewed or transferred on or after 20 June 2014. Both an entry inspection and an exit inspection are required, and the signed document must be annexed to the lease contract. Failure to comply deprives the landlord of the Article 1731 Code civil statutory presumption that the tenant received the premises in good condition.

The inspection is conducted jointly (contradictoirement) by the landlord and tenant — or their duly authorised representatives — at no charge to either party. If the parties cannot agree or one side refuses to attend, a commissaire de justice (the French court officer, formerly called a huissier de justice) is appointed to conduct the inspection. In that case, the officer's fees — freely negotiated and not regulated for commercial leases — are split equally between landlord and tenant, regardless of which party initiated the appointment.

Without a signed entry inventory, the landlord cannot invoke the presumption under Article 1731 of the Code civil, which would otherwise assume the tenant received the premises in good condition. At the end of the lease, the burden of proof shifts entirely to the landlord: they must independently demonstrate the initial state of the premises before claiming any reinstatement costs. In practice, this makes it very difficult to recover repair costs for damage that could plausibly have pre-dated the tenancy.

Unlike residential tenancies, fees for a commissaire de justice conducting a commercial property inspection are not regulated and are set by free quotation. Costs typically range from €200 to €500 depending on the size of the premises and the complexity of the inspection. When the officer is called in because the parties cannot reach agreement, those fees are always split equally: each side bears half.

The exit inspection (état des lieux de sortie) must take place on the day the tenant hands back the keys — at lease expiry, on early surrender or on transfer of the lease. No specific deadline expressed in days is set by statute, but the inspection must be concurrent with the actual vacation of the premises to remain enforceable. If it is conducted after the tenant has already left, the tenant may successfully contest the attribution of any damage that could have occurred after their departure.

Yes. The exit inspection is compared line by line against the entry inspection, so both documents must cover the same elements — floors, walls, ceilings, joinery, electrical fittings, sanitary installations, equipment and utility meter readings (water, electricity, gas) — room by room. Each item should carry a condition rating (new, good, worn, damaged) and be supported by dated, numbered photographs annexed to the report. A consistent format is the only reliable basis for attributing and quantifying reinstatement obligations at lease end.