Legality of contracts

[Ciapolin]

I have started to draft up contracts etc for my properties, and looking at some of the examples posted by members, I notice that there is a tendancy to state which country's law they are governed by.

I don't know whether it is better to be covered by UK or Italian law, or even if being an Italian resident, if I can have contracts covered by UK law.

Does anyone have a view?

[Clexane]

Ciapolin,

In France the contracts have to be governed by French Law and also must be in French to be legal.

I suspect the same would be for Italy. Happy to PM you our contract but I warn you it is kind of harsh though no complaints from guests.

[Alan Knighting]

Clexane,

You are absolutely right! The tenancy contract of a property in France must be written in French and will normally be governed by French law.

It is possible for the parties to choose the law governing the contract but the choice will be of limited effect as the mandatory requirements that the law of the country where the property is situate will always apply irrespective of any choice of law.

There is one partial exception.

Under Article 16(1) of the 1968 Brussels Convention, disputes concerning tenancies of French properties concluded for temporary private use for a maximum period of six consecutive months can be subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales if:-

• 1. the landlord and the tenant are private individuals, and
  
  2. the landlord and the tenant are both domiciled in England and Wales.

In every other case, the letting agreement must always be subject to the jurisdiction of the French courts and must be written in the French language. If the (English) tenants refuse to leave the property at the end of the letting period, the matter must be dealt with by the French courts, whatever the letting agreement says.

It’s not rocket science. It’s not cowboys on the Costa’s. It’s a property in France, where the law is French and the language is French.

That's the position; why would anyone want to argue otherwise?

Alan

[vrooje]

So should we be asking all our clients to sign our french-language contract? We have been dealing with the english-language version except with our French customers. Should we be having everybody sign both?

Also, our French contract states that in case of conflict between the english and french versions, the english version will take precedence. It sounds like that might not actually be legal?

[Alan Knighting]

Brooke,

It only applies if you have to go to court to establish your case.

Regards

Alan

[vrooje]

Hmm... but it seems to me that not worrying about that part would be something like not cashing a deposit check. The people who will accept your simple statement of the rules (even those who may need to be reminded of them afterward) aren't the ones we need to worry about anyway. If the contract is no good when I really need to enforce it, why make them sign anything at all?

Hm... looks like I have some editing to do. Maybe I'll try to integrate the french and english contracts somehow. I hate the idea of sending someone two contracts to sign! But, clearly an english-language contract is also necessary.

[Alan Knighting]

Brooke,

In practice, most disputes can be resolved by reference to the contract and what it says, in which case it really doesn't matter which language the contract is written in.

If you can't resolve a dispute by reference to the contract you will have to turn to the courts and, in France, the courts will require the contract to comply with French law and be written in French. Otherwise the courts will decline to consider the written contract.

It's a pain I know but, to cover all eventualities, your contracts should be written in French. By all means issue an English translation but make sure it is entirely accurate.

Regards

Alan

[Ciapolin]

Rules are rules I know, but do you think people wuld be happy signing a contract in a foreign language - I speak French and Italian reasonably well, but I'm not sure I would be happy, without getting it independently checked. Seems like a lot of hard work for a one/two week holiday.

I suppose it comes down to explaining to people why it has to be done.

[Alan Knighting]

Carole-Anne,

I don't use a tenancy agreement for short term holidays. I simply have some terms and conditions which my visitors sign as being read and understood.

What do other people do I wonder?

Regards

Alan

[Fraise]

Yes,we have T and C's also,but with a bit about being under English law ( domiciled/tax paying in UK !!).We ask our guests to sign this when we take the deposit.

[alexia s.]

I wouldn't dream of getting people to sign a French language contract (our visitors are nearly all English-speaking). We did have some French visitors once, and they happily signed my English contract!
For holiday lets the differences with French law aren't staggering (Alan might correct me on this - it's not my field) - they include amounts of deposit allowed, time for paying the final rent ...... frankly, if anyone starts to quibble over this, I don't want them.
Provided you give what you promise to give - and it's clean & dry - you shouldn't have any problems. Last week's Sunday Times had an article which recommended taking a film of the loo flushing so that any dispute over this could be easily resolved. I don't believe that this was intended as a joke (although it is one).

[Alan Knighting]

Alexia,

I think the main differences are tenants' security of tenure at the end of the initial term. In France, tenants for a fixed short term do not have a right to stay so the main difference does not apply.

I know the exception to which I have already referred only applies in certain circumstances but that is the approach I would adopt for all holiday lettings, if you want to have a letting agreement at all. I don't.

In reality the obligations are very simple. For the owner, produce what you have promised to produce. For the renter, pay the rent, respect the property and leave on time. Minor damage can be dealt with through a security deposit, major damage is probably an insurance issue.

Tenancy law is not my field either. I have uncovered enough for me to be comfortable in letting my properties for short term holiday use.

Regards

Alan

[vrooje]

I was thinking of some sort of paragraph-by-paragraph translation... but the logistics of providing a French-English contract are probably overwhelming. I haven't even tried it yet, but I'd imagine that I'll have to make the font size teeny and the margins huge just to get it to print at less than 4 pages!

...so maybe not. I do feel that if a plan intended to work in the worst-case scenario wouldn't be applicable then anyway, there's no real sense in having the plan. However, Alan is quite right that most issues get resolved without going to court, so it's useful then.

[Ciapolin]

Alan,

I like your T's and C's approach. Maybe one way round this would be to mention in the T's and C's that there is a French version, copies on request (or something like that anyway).

[Alan Knighting]

Alan,

I like your T's and C's approach. Maybe one way round this would be to mention in the T's and C's that there is a French version, copies on request (or something like that anyway).

I know nothing about Italian law but, for a week or two, why not?

Alan