Supreme Court clarifies deadline calculation for eviction compensation under Commercial Lease law

Case Background

The tenant, who operated a hospitality business, requested a renewal of the commercial lease. The landlords refused, citing their intention to use the premises themselves. In such cases, the law prohibits the launch of a similar commercial activity unless the landlord compensates the tenant.

When it became apparent that the landlords still intended to open a hospitality business in the premises, the tenant filed a claim for eviction compensation. However, the court dismissed the claim as being filed too late.

Legal Framework and Dispute

According to Article 28 of the Belgian Commercial Lease Act, such a claim must be filed within one year from the date it becomes evident that the landlord did not take personal possession of the property within six months.

The legal debate centered on whether the deadline should be calculated under the Judicial Code, which allows extensions if a deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday – or under the Old Civil Code, which does not include such flexibility.

Court Rulings

The tenant submitted an additional claim on June 1, 2022, arguing that the landlords had neither taken personal possession of the property within six months nor maintained it for two years as required.

The Court of Appeal ruled that this concerns an expiration period within the meaning of Articles 2260–2261 of the old Civil Code, and not a procedural deadline to which Articles 51–54 of the Judicial Code would apply. The claim was therefore dismissed as untimely.

The plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the deadlines under the Judicial Code should apply. The Supreme Court rejected this argument and upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

Deadline Analysis

The commercial lease ended on November 30, 2020. The landlords were required to take personal possession of the premises by May 30, 2021, at the latest. The one-year expiration period for the tenant to file a claim for eviction compensation thus began on that date, ending on May 30, 2022.

Even if one assumed the provisions of the Judicial Code applied, the claim filed on June 1, 2022, would still be too late. In that scenario, the period would have begun on May 31, 2021 (the day after the discovery), and the deadline would have been May 31, 2022 – making the June 1 filing outside the permitted period either way.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court confirmed the claim was filed too late and rejected it based on Article 25, first paragraph, 6° of the Commercial Lease Act.

Key takeaway: In eviction compensation cases under the Commercial Lease Act, strict expiration periods apply. These are mandatory deadlines and are interpreted narrowly. The extension rules of the Judicial Code do not apply when the act in question is not procedural in nature.

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