It is in the exercise of its sovereign power

Application pratique:

The Court of Cassation's 15 April 2021 ruling confirms that an unequivocal renewal request and an unqualified acceptance form a binding contract preserving all previous terms, including rent. The baker can rely on this decision to refuse the increase: the landlady's acceptance without reserving the right to revise rent means she is contractually bound. He should formally cite the ruling in a registered letter to her, and if she persists, raise this defence in any legal proceedings. To protect his position, he should keep all correspondence and avoid any document suggesting he agreed to a new rent.

Application pratique:

Under the 2021 precedent, the landlord's unqualified acceptance creates a new lease with the original rent. Her application to revise the rent will be dismissed. To avoid this, she should have responded with a counter-proposal specifying the desired rent, or accepted 'subject to a rent review'. Going forward, she must honour the €2,000 rent until the next statutory revision point (every three years). She can still seek indexation increases under the lease terms, but not a complete market reassessment. Immediate legal audit of all renewal correspondence is crucial to see if any reservation can be argued.

Application pratique:

The Cour de cassation decision means the investor is now bound by the original rent for the renewed 9-year period. Any judicial attempt to fix a higher rent will fail because the exchange of letters formed a definitive agreement. Before purchasing, he should have performed due diligence on the lease's expiry and renewal mechanics. Now, his only option is to negotiate a mutual termination or wait for the triennial rent revision if the lease contract allows it, but likely only to indexation, not market jumps. He must immediately document the sequence of communications and seek legal advice to explore any potential defects in the tenant's request or his own acceptance that could open a window for challenge.