Tenant Challenge to Lease Non-Renewal Based on Tacit Assignment Acceptance

A tenant, having leased commercial premises, challenged a landlord's refusal to renew the lease, arguing the landlord had previously accepted rent payments made by a third party acting on the tenant's behalf, thereby tacitly agreeing to a transfer of the lease, which was contrary to a clause in the lease agreement forbidding such assignment without express written consent. The Court of Cassation rejected the appeal, finding that the mere acceptance of rent payments from a third party, without any clear manifestation of the landlord's intent to consent to the assignment, could not override the express contractual stipulation requiring written authorization for the lease transfer, and therefore, the landlord's refusal to renew based on the unauthorized transfer was valid.