Why One Bergerac Landlord Camped Outside His Own Home

A homeowner from Bergerac, in the Dordogne, has told regional paper Sud Ouest how he reclaimed his renovated house from tenants who refused to leave — by parking a caravan outside the gate and cutting off their water and electricity. The standoff ended with the tenants moving out and the owner facing an estimated €42,000 repair bill.

The owner says he bought the house in 2019, fully renovated it, and rented it out in 2024 when he left for two years in Canada. Before returning, he says he gave the tenants the legally required six months' notice of his intention to take the property back. A week before the handover date, however, the tenants said they would not leave, explaining that they had not found a suitable larger home.

Rather than begin a lengthy eviction procedure, he moved into the house himself. After four days, police told him he could not live alongside his tenants. He then installed a caravan in front of the gate, connected to the house's water and electricity — and discovered the water contract was still in his name, meaning he had been paying the bills for two years. He cut the water; the tenants cut the electricity. He says he asked supplier Engie to reduce the power to a minimum, so the circuit tripped whenever a fridge and a washing machine ran at the same time. The tenants eventually left of their own accord on 5 July, but the owner describes the house as filthy and damaged, with mould, and puts the cost of repairs at €42,000.

He could not legally force the occupants out himself. Under the rules outlined in the article, the owner should first report them to the police and file a complaint, then ask the prefect to act — a procedure that cannot be used during the winter moratorium on evictions.

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Where French Law Draws the Line on Self-Eviction

The Problem With Self-Eviction

The Bergerac case shows the gap between what French law permits and what an individual owner can realistically achieve. The anti-squat rules have been tightened, but an owner must still go through the police, a complaint and the prefect. Someone who cuts utilities or pressures occupants into leaving risks turning a legitimate claim into a legal liability of his own. Here the tenants left, but the owner's methods were unlawful, and the court action he now plans could focus as much on his behaviour as on the damage to his house.

What the Formal Procedure Actually Looks Like

According to the rules summarised by the article, the owner reports the occupants and files a complaint; the prefect then has 48 hours to act; if he issues a formal notice, the occupants must leave within 24 hours; and if they refuse, the prefect can call on the police to enforce the eviction. That route is not automatic. A prefect may refuse where children or vulnerable people live in the property, and the winter truce blocks evictions during the coldest months. The standoff in Bergerac happened partly because these protections and delays make the formal process slow — and slow is exactly what an owner with no time to wait fears.

The Tenants' Side of the Story

The tenants told the regional press that they had intended to leave but had not found a home big enough before the deadline. That does not change their legal obligation to hand back the property after notice, but it explains why a household might stay past the date rather than face homelessness. It also shows how a tight rental market can turn a routine end-of-lease situation into a confrontation where neither side has a good option.

What Landlords and Tenants Should Know When a Lease Ends

This dispute is a reminder that the rules around ending a tenancy in France are specific and that ignoring them creates risk for both sides. For landlords and tenants facing a similar deadline:

  • Give notice in the correct form and timeframe: the law requires at least six months for an unfurnished home and three months for a furnished one — the six-month notice the Bergerac owner says he gave.
  • Never use self-help measures: cutting water, reducing electricity or parking a caravan in the gateway are illegal even when the owner's claim is legitimate, and can expose the owner to legal action.
  • Follow the formal eviction route: report the occupants to the police, file a complaint, then ask the prefect to act — his 48-hour window and the 24-hour notice period are the legal deadlines that matter.
  • Check the calendar: evictions are suspended during the winter moratorium, and a prefect can refuse if children or vulnerable people are in the home, so starting early is the only way to beat the delays.
  • For tenants: leaving before the deadline, or negotiating a written extension, avoids a forced eviction that makes finding the next rental even harder — the exact problem the Bergerac tenants said they faced.