There is no mandatory requirement to include green clauses in leases either within the private or the public sectors in France, and we don’t see this changing in the foreseeable future. It is up to the parties to decide whether to include green provisions in their leases. We have seen in practice that certain types of green clauses are being more frequently incorporated into landlords’ drafting and, significantly, being accepted by tenants, often without amendment. Examples of this are provisions requiring the tenant to share information with the landlord and undertake best efforts to contribute to reducing energy consumption.

Since 14 July 2013, an environmental annex must be attached to any lease agreements regarding rented premises for office and retail use with a surface area exceeding 2,000 square meters. Its content, which is defined by law, is for the landlord and the tenant to exchange information regarding the energy characteristic and performance of the features available in the rented premises, and the waste processing operations.

In addition, a performance diagnostic of the building (Diagnostique de Performance Energétique) must also be attached to all lease agreements. The main purpose of the diagnostic is to inform the tenant about the building’s potential energy consumption.

As mentioned in "Incentives for Green Retrofit", the “Loi Elan” sets out that final energy consumption should be reduced by 40% in 2030, 50% in 2040 and 60% in 2050 (compared with 2010).

To organize the monitoring and control of the obligation to reduce final energy consumption, the French State has set up, through the “Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Énergie” (Environment and Energy Management Agency), an IT platform called “OPERAT.” which is intended to collect, anonymously, from 2022 onward, consumption data from the buildings concerned by the “Loi Elan.”

No later than 30 September each year, landlords and tenants shall transmit various data relating to the previous year (tertiary activities carried out in the premises, surface area, annual energy consumption by type of energy, etc.) to this IT platform. Leases will, therefore, must detail the agreement reached between the parties on the modalities of transmitting the requested information to this IT platform.

Failure to provide the requested information on the IT platform may give rise to publicity measures (“name and shame”) on a dedicated website. Failure to meet the targets for reducing energy consumption will also expose landlords and tenants to the same publicity measures, and to a fine of up to EUR 1,500 for individuals and EUR 7,500 for legal entities, although the first inspections will not take place before 2031.