The Protection And Balancing Of Interests In Store Lessees

The existing legal system of house leasing does not distinguish between civil lease and commercial lease.The interests of both parties can only be balanced with"preemptive right" when the lease term is about to expire and there is no possibility to renew the lease.Such a general rule does not respond well to the call of the rights of merchants.The legislative background of the preemptive right of tenants in our country is that,in order to solve the shortage of housing,the state encourages individuals to lease private houses,and meanwhile,controls the leasing market.Merchants are more likely to invest in production and operation rather than buy stores.In other words,compared with the ownership of stores,merchants are more concerned about the stability of the operation place,and the interests of commercial leasing are bound with it.If a merchant operates well,merchants will be in trouble in the following conditions:the owner tends to sell the store;the owner considerably raises the rent;the owner refuses the quest for renewal and operates the store on merchants'own.The foregoing dilemma can be applicable to the unjust enrichment system,and the owner obtain the goodwill and its derivative interests which are belong to interests of store lessees.After inspection,it is not a reflection benefit or forced enrichment.However,the application of unjust enrichment system lacks judicial operability,and the scope and the effect of protection are not satisfactory.From the perspective of institutional design,the essence of the problem lies in the balance of interests between the store and the store.In the modern common law of China,there is the rule of "right to pudi",which is to protect the interests of the merchants by dividing the ownership of the stores,and the interests are obviously unbalanced.There is priority leasing right in local legislation in China.on the one hand,so it is very easy to be avoided,on the other hand,it needs the cooperation from the owner,so the interests are also unbalanced.French commercial law has the "business renewal right”,store merchants has the right to require extend the lease upon the expiry of the lease,the owner can agree and adjust the rent,or refused,but the owner must pay compensation,so the interests are balanced.French business renewal right is based on the concept of commercial business assets.There is no corresponding concept in Chinese law and it cannot be introduced directly.Under the current legal system framework,judges can estimate the goodwill and its derivative interests by operating time,industry characteristics,store location and so on.Also judges can protect the priority leasing right through the referee techniques.From the perspective of compensating the damage of leasing interests,the idea and technology of business renewal right in French law can be learnt.Legislators should grant businessmen a similar right and adjust relevant provisions in The Judicial Interpretation of Urban House Rental Contract to design special rules applied to the store lessee.