Article 728

What it means when you sign

This article deals with a lease of property in which a factory or a shop has been set up. If necessity requires the tenant to sell that factory or shop, the court may order the lease to continue, provided the purchaser gives sufficient security and the landlord suffers no actual harm as a result.

For a contract about to be signed, this article is relevant to leases of commercial or industrial premises, and to clauses on assignment, transfer of the business, and the landlord's consent. It means the article leaves it to the court to decide whether the lease continues after the business is sold, and it sets two conditions: the buyer provides sufficient security, and the landlord is not actually harmed. A clause that bans any transfer of the lease on a sale of the business is a clause to read next to this article, together with whatever the lease says about the landlord's consent. The article speaks of necessity, so it is not a general right to sell.