Section Second: Payment of Rent

Article 568

Art. 568 - The lessee is bound by two main obligations: 1) to pay the rent; 2) to preserve the leased property and use it without excess or abuse, in accordance with its natural purpose or the purpose assigned to it by the contract.

Article 569

Art. 569 - The lessee must pay the rent at the term fixed by the contract or, in the absence thereof, by local custom; in the absence of custom, the rent must be paid at the end of the tenure. It is permissible to stipulate that the rent shall be paid in advance. The costs of payment are, in all cases, borne by the lessee.

Article 570

Art. 570 - Except as otherwise stipulated, the price of the lease must be paid, for immovable property, at the place where the leased property is located, and, for movable property, at the place where the contract was concluded.

Article 571

Art. 571 - The lessor has a right of retention, for the due rents and for those of the current year, over the furniture and other movable assets that are located in the leased premises and belonging to either the tenant or the assignee of the leasehold right, or even to third parties. He has the right to oppose the removal of these objects, by resorting to the competent authority. He may reclaim them, when they have been removed without his knowledge or despite his opposition, in order to replace them in the place where they were located or in another repository. The lessor may only exercise this right of retention or revendication to the extent of the value necessary to secure his guarantee; he has no right of pursuit when the assets that remain on the premises are sufficient to secure his rights.

Article 572

Art. 572 - The right of revendication cannot be exercised after fifteen days from the date on which the landlord had knowledge of the removal.

Article 573

Art. 573 - The right of retention or of reclamation cannot be exercised: a) on things that cannot be the subject of movable execution; b) on things that have been stolen or lost; c) on things belonging to third parties when the lessor knew, at the time these things were brought onto the premises, that they belonged to third parties.

Article 574

Art. 574 - The lessor's right of retention extends to the effects introduced by the sublessee, up to the extent of the rights of the first lessee against the latter, without the latter being able to oppose the advance payments made to the first lessee, except for the exceptions provided for in art. 587.