During the "winter truce," disconnecting electricity and gas in occupied housing is also considered illegal.
The "winter truce" will begin in France on November 1 and last for 5 months.
In fact, this innocent-sounding term hides a ban on evicting tenants, even if they do not pay rent, and squatters who have illegally occupied housing.
During this period, property owners can go to court, but any eviction order, if issued, will not be enforced until March 31.
Landlords are reminded that illegal eviction of property squatters or dishonest tenants is a crime: "forcing a third party to leave a dwelling in which they reside, without obtaining assistance from the state in accordance with the conditions set forth in Article L. 153-1 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement, through deception, threats, assault, or coercion, is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of 30,000 euros" (Article 226-4-2 of the French Penal Code).
During the "winter truce," disconnecting electricity and gas in occupied housing is also considered illegal.
Landlords are warned against the temptation to resort to the services of bouncers, who for a fee, using the same methods as squatters, move into the property, occupy it for some time, and then, once they are sure that the squatter is no longer trying to reclaim it, return the property to the owner. Landlords are reminded that this scheme of reclaiming property is criminal.
Landlords are also reminded that property occupation or non-payment of rent by tenants is not an automatic reason for exemption from paying property tax. In exceptional cases, a property owner may contact the tax office to request a reduction in the amount of property tax. Each such request will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
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