Translate a commercial lease
The French commercial lease is a legal construct with no equivalent abroad. Translating it means above all explaining a mechanism — that of the 3-6-9, the right to renewal and the eviction indemnity.
How much it costs
For a document of this type, around 6,000 words (18 pages), into one language:
Understand the document, internal use.
Ready to share, by the legal specialist.
Cross-reviewed. For what commits you.
For comparison, a translation agency charges between €720 and €1,200 for the same document, within five to ten working days. VAT not applicable — article 293 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) Original layout included. Exact quotation displayed before payment, after uploading the file.
A mechanism that exists nowhere else
The nine-year term with three-yearly break clause, the status of commercial leases, proprietary lease rights, eviction indemnity: an Anglo-Saxon investor has none of these concepts. A literal translation produces text that is grammatically correct and legally incomprehensible.
Professional practice is to retain the French expression and accompany it with a short gloss at its first occurrence. That is what the legal specialist does.
Annexes are part of the lease
Schedule of condition, energy performance certificate, environmental schedule, inventory of charges: these documents are contractual. They contain tables and records that must come back structured, not reformulated.
Frequently asked questions
Does a translated lease have legal force?
The French version remains the one binding between the parties, unless stipulated otherwise. The translation is there to inform and decide; it does not carry the legal effect of the lease itself.
Are the annexes translated as well?
If you upload them, yes. Upload the complete dossier: the degressive pricing makes the whole cheaper than the pieces taken separately.
The specialist handling it
This type of document is assigned to the legal specialist. See how it works.
Further reading
Going further
Translating a commercial contract: the eight pitfalls that cost dear
Defined terms, legal false friends, governing-language clause, article cross-references, amounts and dates: what turns a contract translation into a dispute, and how to avoid it.
Test it on your document, free of charge
An extract from your file translated by the chosen specialist, before any payment. You assess, then you decide.