The fate of the lease in the event of separation of the tenants

A lessor generally tends to favour a couple or family when renting. 
Gage d’une vie plus stable et souvent deux salaires sont des éléments de nature à rassurer le propriétaire en quête « d’un bon locataire ». Mais qu’en est il du sort du bail en cas de séparation des locataires ?

Even if the number of divorces has been falling in recent years, statistics prove that a couple unfortunately has a great chance of separating in this day and age since 334 divorces are pronounced every day in France.

Contrary to what one might think, the rights are not the same in the case of cohabitation and in the case of marriage.
That is true, in case of marriage, we're talking about the marital home. This notion of conjugal home has very specific consequences for the renting spouses.
First of all, this means that one of the spouses cannot, on his or her own initiative, give notice of the accommodation: the termination of the lease requires the agreement of both spouses.
Furthermore, one of the spouses cannot kick out his or her spouse, precisely because it is the conjugal home.

Rappelons ici que l’article 215 du code civil prévoit en effet que « les époux s’obligent mutuellement à une communauté de vie (…) »

As far as the relationship between the landlord and the tenant couple is concerned, there is no difference, however, depending on whether the couple is married, in a partnership or cohabiting.
The main rule is the indivisibility of the lease and the solidarity between the tenants, which is most of the time recalled in the leases.

Also, during the life of the lease, each member of the couple will remain personally responsible for the payment of the rent.even if there was no longer a community of life.
Therefore, the owner can claim payment from both spouses, and have either spouse/partners of a couple jointly and severally condemned...

En revanche, le juge aux affaires familiales peut octroyer le logement à l’un des époux (généralement celui qui aura la garde des enfants) et dans ce cas, sa décision est opposable au propriétaire bailleur à compter de la transcription du divorce sur le registre de l’état civil, ce qui signifie que tant que cette transcription n’a pas lieu, les deux membres du couple sont tenus du paiement des loyers. 
En revanche, à compter de cette transcription le conjoint qui n’est pas attributaire du logement n’a plus à payer le loyer (sauf décision judiciaire contraire). Toutefois, il sera préférable d’adresser la copie du dispositif du jugement de divorce (la fin de la décision, qui débute par « PAR CES MOTIFS »).

Without waiting for the divorce judgment, it is always possible to ask the lessor to request a modification of the lease and to reconsider the solidarity clause. However, it will be necessary to be persuasive because the lessor has no obligation .

Finally, if the landlord intends to terminate the lease himself (in one of the cases provided for by law: to sell, to live, to have someone from his family live there or in the event of the tenant's failure to meet his obligations), it will then be advisable to think about giving notice to both tenants. The use of a bailiff to give notice is then particularly advisable.