The bare owner of a dwelling does not have the power to give notice to the tenant since he does not have the right to use the dwelling.
He also does not have the power to sign a lease with a tenant, said the Court of Cassation.
The Court therefore prevented a bare owner from using the possibility of giving notice to the tenant in order to take over the accommodation for himself or for a loved one.
The difficulty was linked to a donation made by a father to his son. To transmit with reduced transfer rights, the father had transmitted to his son the bare ownership of an apartment and he had reserved the usufruct. The son had then signed a lease with a tenant whom he was now asking to leave.
This request is impossible, explained the Court of Cassation. Because in a dismemberment of ownership, the bare owner holds the strict ownership but not the right of use. He does not have the right to enjoy the property or to collect the income from it. It is the usufructuary who retains the right of use and therefore the right to lease. It is the usufructuary who collects the income and pays the various taxes and levies. The bare owner could not therefore claim the departure of the tenant.
The 1989 law, which governs the relationship between tenants and landlords, indicates that "the lessor" can give notice to the tenant in order to take over the accommodation for himself or for a relative, but this lessor can only be the usufructuary. , concluded the judges.
(Cass. Civil 3, 26.1.2022, V 20-20.223).
