Lease structures - mainland Europe and America
The structure of leases and the legal liability placed on the investor and occupier vary significantly from country to country across Europe.
France has statutory contracts of 9-12 years with occupiers’ options to terminate at years 3 and 6. The rent is normally reviewed every 3 years by reference to government indexes.
Germany has 5-year leases with rent indexation rules. Whilst there is no statutory right to renew a lease, it is not unusual for contracts to have an automatic renewal of 12-24 months if the occupier does not serve the relevant notices.
In Spain, leases tend to be for 3-5 years with annual rent reviews linked to the relevant government index. Lease termination varies according to the contract and there is no statutory right to renew a lease.
