Rent from renting an apartment is a popular form of passive income that can regularly and significantly increase a family's disposable income. At the same time, however, when entrusting someone with their own property, landlords have to reckon with the risk of possible damage to the property, the possibility of defaulting on payments or the difficulties associated with protracted eviction proceedings. In this guide, those embarking on the adventure of renting residential property will find answers to the most important questions, in particular: From what angle to check the landlord? What form of lease to choose? How to determine the responsibilities of both parties during the lease?
Verification of the future tenant of the apartment
Verification of the future tenant before handing over the apartment often increases the chance of excluding the occurrence of possible difficulties during the lease. Therefore, before entrusting a tenant with your property, it is advisable to confirm his identity, for example, by obtaining more than one identity document for inspection - identity card, driver's license, passport, pensioner's card, etc.
Personal information from the identity document will be necessary to conclude the lease agreement in writing. In addition, having the PESEL number, the landlord, through the database of the National Debtor Register, is able to check whether the other party is in arrears with various payments.
An additional security for the landlord can be a statement submitted by the prospective tenant about the place of employment, form of employment and declared monthly income. Reliable and honest landlords are willing to provide such information, understanding that it serves as a security for the landlord against delays and insolvency of the other party.
Ultimately, however, it is often particularly effective to talk to a potential tenant. Already during the first contact it is possible to obtain important information, in particular:
about the current place of residence and the reasons for its change,
family members who will live in the rented apartment,
living situation and plans for the near future.
Conclusion of an apartment lease agreement
The essence of residential leases is regulated by the Civil Code and the Law on the Protection of Tenants' Rights. Under Article 658 of the Civil Code, a lease agreement is understood to be a contract under which "the lessor undertakes to give the lessee a thing to use for a definite or indefinite period of time, and the lessee undertakes to pay the lessor the agreed rent." At the same time, the rent may be paid in money, or in other non-monetary benefits, i.e. in services or goods having a certain material value.
The pecuniary nature of a rental agreement, regardless of the agreed type of rent payment, is subject to appropriate taxation.
you rent an apartment ? check to home 3 bedrooms harrisonburg
Form of the rental agreement
The current law leaves landlords a certain amount of discretion as to how to conclude the contract. This means that, in certain cases, it can be concluded orally, or even implicitly, that is, by informally giving the apartment for use, in exchange for establishing an obligation to pay rent. Of course, the safest form, which allows the contract to remain in evidence, is to conclude it in writing, including in the form of a notarial deed. When deciding how to conclude the agreement, it should be borne in mind that only the written form allows to formalize the rules of cooperation in such a way as to facilitate possible subsequent enforcement.
From the statutory definition of lease cited in the previous part of the guide, the forms of lease are distinguished by their duration:
lease for a definite term - this form of lease allows the rotation of tenants to be spread out, since a contract concluded for a definite term cannot be terminated before the end of its duration, except as specified in the contract;
tenancy for an indefinite term - termination of such a form of tenancy occurs with due notice, customarily as a result of a party to the contract giving notice.
The most important arrangements in a lease agreement
According to the current law, the minimum stipulations of a lease agreement include the amount of rent and the term of the lease. However, it is likely that subsequent communication between the parties will be easier if the agreement specifies the rules and requirements for the obligations of both parties.
In particular, the lease agreement should include such elements as:
the date and place of the lease agreement;
identification of the parties to the agreement - in the case of natural persons, the identification of the parties is made by providing their first and last names, registered address, series and number of identity card with a note by whom it was issued;
Determination of the subject of the agreement - that is, the indication of the premises that are the subject of the rental agreement (form of ownership, location, land register), together with a synthetic definition of its parameters (area, number of rooms);
determination of the condition of the property and equipment at the time of rental - evidence of the condition of the transferred premises may also be a photographic documentation attached to the agreement;
indication of the date of transfer of the dwelling;
indication of the duration of the contract or a provision that the contract is concluded for an indefinite period;
arrangements for rent, in particular: the amount of rent, specifying the date and methods of transferring rent, such as by bank transfer by the 15th of each month;
arrangements for additional charges - for utilities, waste disposal and service charges, e.g., determination of the party who will transfer the utility charges to the network managers, determination of the amount of the flat fee for utilities, determination of the method of time period of utility billing, determination of the amount of service charges, e.g., related to building security, maintenance of lifts;
identification of roommates, often in lease agreements roommates are mentioned by name;
information on how to resolve a situation in which the tenant fails to meet the obligation to pay rent by the due date, such as determining the amount of interest for delays, information on the possibility of withdrawal from the agreement without notice;
conditions for termination of the agreement, depending on the form of lease: conditions and term of notice period, situations of termination of the agreement without observing the statutory notice period;
arrangements for the deposit, in particular: the amount of the deposit, information on the transfer of the deposit, conditions for the return of the deposit;
arrangements between the parties regarding subletting, in particular, the landlord's stipulation as to whether he consents to the subletting of the premises or parts thereof by the tenant;
arrangements for additional benefits of the landlord and tenant;
additional regulations, in particular concerning animals, smoking in the apartment, the possibility of making changes in the arrangement and furnishings, the tenant's entitlement to the use of appurtenant premises,
arrangements for amendments to the agreement.
you rent an apartment ?check to 2 zimmer haus balkon köln
What is an occasional lease?
Occasional tenancy is a special form of tenancy, in which the agreement is concluded in the form of a notarial deed. In this type of rental relationship, the tenant is required to declare another dwelling in which to live in the event of enforcement of the obligation to vacate the premises. The occasional lease agreement can be concluded only for a fixed term, not exceeding 10 years.
Collection of a deposit from the tenant
In the procedure of renting a dwelling, the deposit is a kind of guarantee and financial security related to the possible failure of the tenant to comply with the provisions of the lease agreement (such as early termination of the lease agreement, non-payment of rent) or destruction of the premises. The security deposit is used to secure the amount owed for the restoration of the premises to their original condition, in case the tenant fails to carry out this restoration on his own when vacating the apartment.
What should the amount of the security deposit be? The Law on the Protection of Tenants' Rights (Article 6(1)) only sets an upper limit on the amount of the security deposit, and it is twelve times the monthly rent in effect on the date of the lease agreement. In practice, the amount of the security deposit is determined by the landlord and depends on the location, standard and equipment of the dwelling. It is customary to assume that the deposit is equal to one or two months' rent.
Return of the security deposit
According to Article 6(3) of the aforementioned law, "the security deposit shall be returned within one month from the date the premises are vacated or the tenant acquires ownership of the premises, after deducting the landlord's receivables from the rental of the premises."
Transfer of the apartment to the tenant
The transfer of housing to a tenant is specified in the Law on the Protection of Tenants' Rights. Per Article 6c of the said law: "Prior to handing over the premises to the tenant, the parties shall draw up a protocol, in which they shall specify the technical condition and the degree of wear and tear of the installations and appliances located therein. The protocol shall be the basis for settlement upon return of the premises."
In order to clearly settle the utilities, it is worth expanding the content of the handover protocol to include an inventory of the state of the meters before the tenant starts using the premises.
you rent an apartment ? check to maison 4 pieces garage bressols
Scope of responsibilities of the landlord and tenant
The scope of the responsibilities of the parties to a lease agreement is defined by the Law on the Protection of Tenants' Rights, cited earlier. The private sector landlord has the option to specify or modify the scope of the parties' responsibilities in the lease agreement. However, if the list of responsibilities is not modified in the rental agreement, the provisions of the catalog provided by the law apply to this particular agreement.
Specific obligations of the landlord of an apartment under the applicable law (per Article 6a of the Law on the Protection of Tenants' Rights):
ensuring the efficient operation of installations and equipment related to the building;
replacing worn-out fixtures and fittings of the premises before the premises are handed over to the tenant;
maintaining the premises and equipment of the building for the common use of the residents and its surroundings in good condition, order and cleanliness;
making repairs to the building, its premises and equipment, and restoring the previous condition of a damaged building, regardless of the cause, except that the tenant shall be obligated to cover losses caused by his fault;
making repairs to the premises, repairing or replacing installations and elements of technical equipment to the extent not incumbent on the tenant, in particular: repairing and replacing internal installations: water, gas and hot water, internal sewage system, central heating system including radiators, electrical system, collective antenna, heating stoves, window and door woodwork and floors, floors and floor coverings, as well as plaster.
Specific obligations of the tenant under the applicable law (per Article 6b of the Law on the Protection of Tenants' Rights):
timely payment of rent and utilities;
maintenance of the premises and premises in proper technical and sanitary condition and observance of domestic order;
Protecting the common parts of the building (elevators, stairwells, corridors, chute rooms, other utility rooms and surroundings) from devastation and damage;
Repair and maintenance of, among other things, floors, floor coverings and ceramic, glass and other wall coverings, windows and doors, built-in furniture, kitchen stoves, kitchens and instantaneous water heaters, water heaters, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, sanitary appliances including drain lines, electrical system fixtures and protections, stoves, painting or wallpapering and repairing damage to plaster walls and ceilings, painting doors and windows, built-in furniture, kitchen, sanitary and heating appliances.
How to rent an apartment ? - summary
Depending on the method and form of lease, the interests of the landlord and tenant are protected to varying degrees. To avoid possible problems during the lease, it is worthwhile to check out the tenant in advance and jointly discuss any conditions that will form the basis of cooperation.
No comments yet