Protection of personal property following eviction

Legislation

Law of 23 July 2024 amending the Law of 21 September 2006 on residential leases (loi du 23 juillet 2024 modifiant la loi du 21 septembre 2006 sur le bail à loyer à usage d'habitation

Article 29

Article 29 stipulates that:

"(1) In the case of the forced eviction of a person who has been sentenced to vacate the premises they occupy, the personal property located in such premises shall be transported to the place of the evicted person's choosing, and the costs of such transport shall be borne by the evicted person and paid by the latter in advance.

(2) If the evicted person does not designate a place of storage, or if they refuse or are unable to cover the cost of transport in advance, the court officer in charge of executing the eviction order shall have the personal property transported to the premises as specified in Article 30, and the costs of such transport shall be borne by the evicted person and paid in advance by the municipality in which the place of eviction is located, should this be requested by the officer. (…)"

Article 30

Article 30 stipulates that:

"(1) The municipality shall ensure that the personal property of persons evicted under the conditions provided for in Article 29 (2) is stored in an appropriate location. It may destroy any perishable, unsanitary or dangerous goods, and refuse to store any goods that would be difficult to keep or would involve abnormal costs. (…)

(3) (…) the stored property must be removed within three months of the date on which it was placed in storage (…)

(4) If the property has not been removed by the end of this three-month period, the municipality will send the evicted person a registered letter ordering them to remove their property. If, after another three months, the evicted person has not responded to the order to remove their property, the municipality may send the evicted person a final registered letter ordering them to remove the property within 15 days, and informing them that should they fail to do so, it would be irrevocably presumed that they have waived the right to reclaim the stored property. The municipality will then be authorised to sell the property located in the premises where it is stored, or to otherwise dispose of it."