Fire: Subtenant responsability

Subtenant liability

The sub-tenant is responsible for all fire damage in the sub-let area. Under article 1733 of the French Civil Code, the tenant is presumed to be responsible for fire in the leased commercial premises.

If the tenant wishes to avoid liability, he must prove :

• the existence of a construction defect,
• that the fire was transmitted by a neighboring house,
• an act of God or force majeure.

The same reasoning applies in the case of a main commercial lease and a commercial lease sublease.

In this case (Civ. 3e, May 23, 2012, no. 11-17.183), the tenant had sublet the residential part of his premises. A fire broke out in this part of the premises. The tenant tried to limit his liability to the damage to the sublet premises only. Nevertheless, the sub-tenant was ordered to compensate the main tenant and the landlord (owner) for the entirety of their premises ravaged by the fire.

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