Vacanceole Provence Clos Dia tourist residence

Vacanceole Provence operated the “Clos Dia” tourist residence in Tourrettes

The lessors entered into commercial leases with Vacanceole Provence for the operation of a tourist residence. A group of 70 lessors seized the property and gave the operator notice to vacate their property.

Summary order of the Draguignan judicial court of October 9, 2024

The summary order issued by the Draguignan judicial court on October 9, 2024 in the referenced case concerns a commercial lease dispute.

The plaintiffs, various owners of lots located in the “Clos Dia” residence in Tourrettes, entered into commercial leases with the Vacancéole Provence company for the operation of a tourist residence. The agreed rent was 300,000 euros per year, plus a 40% share of operating profits. The lessors criticized the lessee company for failing to pay certain rents, due to the absence of rent indexation.

Vacanceole Provence rent arrears: failure of the tourism residence operator to index rents annually

Due to unpaid rents linked to the failure of the operator of the tourist residence to index rents annually, and the refusal to renew several leases, the owners applied to the interim relief judge to declare the acquisition of the resolutory clause in the lease contracts and order the eviction of the tenant company. They also requested that the company be ordered to pay unpaid rents corresponding to the absence of annual indexation.

In its defense, SASU Vacancéole Provence contested the service of the summons to pay and the notice to vacate. It raised objections of nullity on the grounds of failure to provide supporting documents. In the alternative, it requested payment deadlines and formulated counterclaims, in particular claiming eviction compensation.

Rejection of Vacanceole Provence’s request for cancellation of the vacations

The court examined the procedural objections raised by the tenant company. It recalled that the interim relief judge cannot declare bailiff’s acts null and void, but can only verify whether there are serious disputes. In this case, the payment orders and notices to vacate were indeed mentioned in the communication of documents, and the tenant company had not demonstrated any grievance caused by this alleged irregularity.

With regard to the substantive claims, the court analyzed the provisions of articles L.145-14 and L.145-28 of the French Commercial Code, specifying the rights of tenants in the event of lease renewal refusal and eviction compensation. The court considered that, on the basis of the documents presented, an expert appraisal was necessary to evaluate the eviction indemnity potentially due. Theexpertise was therefore ordered, at the advanced expense of the lessors, as is customary.

Claim for termination without eviction compensation based on resolutory clauses in leases

With regard to resolutory clauses in commercial leases, the court recalled the provisions of article L.145-41 of the French Commercial Code. It noted that the payment orders issued were valid, but that the sums claimed did not, in its view, justify a sufficiently precise breakdown. However, a table showing updates by year was appended to the order to pay issued by the bailiff. It is probable that the summary judgment judge did not intend to take responsibility for terminating certain commercial leases for lack of annual rent indexation.

Thus, the claim remained contestable according to the Juge des référés, and the court rejected the requests to acquire the resolutory clauses and the requested evictions. In addition, requests for an advance on indexed rents were also rejected on the grounds of serious disputes.

Finally, the court rejected the tenant company’s counterclaims for lack of sufficient evidence. It also ruled that there were no grounds for interim relief in respect of the lessors‘ claims.

In conclusion, the court ordered a judicial appraisal to evaluate the eviction indemnities, but rejected the parties’ other claims.

Judicial appraisal of eviction and occupancy indemnities

The court-appointed expert will need to be provided with the operating accounts and balance sheets that the operator is required to submit to the lessors every year, outside the scope of any legal proceedings.

Under the French Tourism Code, the operator of a tourist residence is required to provide certain accounting documents to lessors, even outside any legal proceedings, in order to ensure transparency and monitoring of management.

Operator’s obligations in terms of accounting transparency

Article L.321-1 et seq. of the French Tourism Code govern the obligations of operators of tourist residences, such as Vacanceole Provence. These provisions stipulate that the operator must provide lot owners (lessors) with documents enabling them to verify the activity and results of the operation. These include

• Operating accounts;
• Annual balance sheets.

The intervention of a legal expert may be requested in the event of a dispute or doubt about the operator’s management. However, even in the absence of legal proceedings, if the operator refuses or neglects to provide the required documents, a legal expert can be commissioned to obtain this information. This ensures that the operator’s obligations are fulfilled, and that the activity can be verified.

If the obligation to provide these documents is not respected, this could potentially justify legal action on the part of the lessor for failure by the operator to respect his obligations, on the basis of the aforementioned articles of the French Tourism Code or Commercial Code.

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