Be careful when you leave your apartment to your child! If you forget to give notice, it can cost you dearly. A tenant of a social housing unit learned this to his cost. In June 2001, a couple rented social housing in Paris that they occupied with their children. Ten years later, the husband left the marital home but without giving notice to the social landlord. He therefore remains joint tenant of the lease. In June 2016, the wife, who lives alone in the accommodation with her son, died of cancer. From then on, the husband had exclusive rights to the lease (Article 1751 of the Civil Code) but he no longer occupied the accommodation.
So what to do? The widower could transfer his right to his son since the teenager had lived in the premises for at least a year before his mother’s death (article 14 of the law of July 6, 1989). Problem: he does not meet the resource conditions provided for by the law (article 40 of the law of July 6, 1989) since he is a minor and does not work. What about his sister? Born in 1989, she could pay the rent but did not live with her mother for at least a year before her death. A real headache for the father. Finally, he decides to sign an amendment specifying that he has become the “sole tenant of the apartment” but he still doesn’t occupy it. A risky solution that backfired.
A case full of twists and turns
The son, his sister and her husband who joined them illegally, occupy the apartment and pay their rent which amounts to 685 euros. But the social landlord, who is obliged to check the financial situation of their tenants each year, notes two violations. The first? The father, the leaseholder, earns more than the income ceiling authorized to occupy this social housing. The second? The social landlord was not informed that the father does not occupy the accommodation.
As the law allows (article L441-9 of the construction and housing code), the professional claims from the father an additional rent (or solidarity rent supplement), which amounts to 56,387 euros. An amount that corresponds to the sums owed between January 1, 2018 and October 13, 2020, the date on which the occupants left the social housing. If he had not summoned the unscrupulous tenant, the lessor risked a financial penalty (article L441-11 of the construction and housing code). Another penalty: the new rent soars to 2,633 euros per month. That is an increase of 284%! A rate that is too expensive for the occupants of the social housing who are content to pay the old rent of 685 euros.
At first instance, the lessor won his case: the father was ordered to pay the 56,387 euros but in installments because he never gave notice. On September 27, 2022, the Paris Court of Appeal dismissed the lessor’s claim and ruled that the lease should have continued for the benefit of the son, “holder of the right to transfer, in competition with his father.» New twist: on July 4, 2024, the lessor wins his showdown again. The tenant must indeed pay the additional rent requested since, “co-holder of the lease, he had not expressly waived, after the death of his wife, the exclusivity of his right to the lease and that he had not otherwise terminated this lease by a validly delivered notice“, ruled the Court of Cassation. It is once again the Court of Appeal that will have to decide this incredible case.
