If the tenant of your rental property goes bankrupt, this has significant legal consequences.
1. What happens to the lease agreement?
Bankruptcy law applies, and a trustee will be appointed to manage the debtor’s assets. The trustee takes the place of the tenant and decides the fate of the ongoing lease.
Bankruptcy does not automatically terminate the lease. The trustee may choose to continue the lease or to terminate it.
Rent that becomes due after the date of bankruptcy is considered an “estate debt.” These debts take priority over ordinary creditors because they are incurred for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate.
Any rent arrears prior to the bankruptcy must be filed as an ordinary claim in the liabilities of the bankruptcy. Filing a claim is mandatory.
2. What if the trustee remains silent?
The landlord should formally request the trustee to confirm whether the lease will be continued or not. The trustee must then take a position. If no answer is given within 15 days, the lease is deemed not to be continued, and the landlord may consider the contract terminated.
3. Transfer of a commercial lease
In the case of a commercial lease (for premises with direct contact with the public), the trustee has the right to transfer the lease to a third party, i.e., a purchaser of the business. Case law of the Court of Cassation confirms that, in the event of bankruptcy, the trustee may transfer the lease together with the business, even without the landlord’s consent. The landlord may only oppose this if there is an explicit and valid prohibition in the lease agreement.
4. The statutory privilege of the unpaid landlord
The unpaid landlord has a special position: a legal privilege over the debtor’s movable property located on the leased premises. In the distribution of the bankruptcy estate, the landlord will have priority over the proceeds from goods located on the premises.
This privilege ranks after the tax authorities and social security institutions, but before ordinary creditors.
If the goods were removed before the bankruptcy, the privilege is lost, and the landlord becomes only an ordinary creditor.
5. Filing a claim
As landlord, you must file your claim via the Central Register of Solvency. This is mandatory and must include the debts, privileges, supporting documents, etc.
The trustee will decide whether to accept or dispute your claim.
Through the register, you can follow the further settlement of the bankruptcy.
6. What about residential leases?
Tenants of residential properties benefit from additional protection. The trustee cannot terminate a residential lease without observing the statutory notice period, which in practice is usually three months.
7. How can Adverit Legal assist you?
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Reviewing your lease agreement: determining your rights and obligations, and whether you are entitled to termination compensation.
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Handling the correct legal communication with the trustee and managing conflicts (access to the premises, return of keys, treatment of abandoned goods, property damage, etc.).
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Filing the claim and recovering arrears, including invoking the landlord’s privilege.
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Assisting with the transfer of the lease or negotiating an amicable settlement.
24.09.2025 – Kenny Marien
