Rental agreement (Tenancy)

What is necessary to know about rental agreement (tenancy)?

Найм жилья

The main provisions, governing  legal  relations  of  rental agreement (hereinafter Tenancy), are established  in Chapter 58 “ The rent” (lease),  and 59 “The rental agreement” of the Civil Code of Ukraine (hereinafter – CCU). Herewith, the requirements of the Chapter 59 of the CCU relate to rental agreement, with a clearly defined purpose – the residence. Therefore, during the conclusion of a tenancy you should be guided by the provisions of Chapter 59 of the CCU, which are special rules of law. http://old.minjust.gov.ua/33325.

Art. 810 of the CCU provides: under the rental agreement one party – the owner of the dwelling (or an apartment) (the Landlord) transfers or agrees to transfer to another party (the Tenant) dwelling for living in it for a certain period for the fee.

According to the Part 1  of Art. 811 of the CCU:  rental agreement shall be in writing.

Art. 812 of the CCU contains provisions (information) about the subject of the rental agreement:

  1. The subject of the rental agreement can be, particularly apartment or a part of it, a house or a part of it.
  2. The apartment shall be suitable for permanent habitation.
  3. The Tenant in an apartment house has the right to use the property, which is servicing a house.

The rent:

  1. An amount of the fee for an apartment’s use is established by rental agreement (tenancy). If the law provides a maximum for amount of the fee for an apartment’s use, payment established in the agreement, shall not exceed this sum.
  2. Unilateral change of the fee for an apartment’s use an is not allowed, unless otherwise is provided by agreement or law.
  3. Tenant pays a fee for the use of an apartment within a period specified by the rental agreement (The tenancy).

If the term of payment for the use of dwelling is not specified by the agreement, the Tenant makes it monthly.

Term of a tenancy:

Tenancy is concluded for a period specified by the agreement. If the agreement`s term is not specified by Tenancy, it considers to be concluded for five years (Art. 821 of the CCU).

Termination of the rental agreement (Art. 821 of the CCU)

1. The Tenant, with the consent of other living with him/her persons, has the right to turn down rental agreement, with written notice to the Landlord three months before.

If the Tenant vacates the premises without notice, the Landlord has the right to require payment of fees for the use of an apartment for three months, in case of the Landlord can prove that he cannot conclude an agreement of Tenancy on the same terms with another person.

The Tenant has the right to turn down an agreement , if the house has become unusable  for its permanent residence in .

Pre-term termination of the rental agreement with the option to purchase, prior to acquisition of the right to property by Tenant, is carried out in the manner prescribed by law. A rental agreement with the option to purchase may be terminated in the cases defined by law.

The Landlord must notify the tenant about termination of the agreement no later than two months.

What you should know before renting an apartment?

Before You start renting an apartment you should make sure that the Landlord is the owner of the apartment (or a person who is legally entitled to act for and on behalf of the owner). For this purpose:

  1. Ask the Landlord identify paper (a passport, an identification code);
  2. Ask documents for real estate (title document: apartment sale and purchase agreement, gift contract, testament, the act of privatization).
  3. Check the information contained in the documents in the State Register of property rights.
  4. Talk to neighbors on the floor, a porch or a house. Find out what they knew about the apartment, which you are planning to rent.

If the information provided by You is true offer the Landlord to sign an agreement.

Typical cases of fraud in the field of real estate lease

Risk group are students who came from other cities of Ukraine and international  students. Swindlers use the ignorance of the victims, their need for a rapid location in another city (country), blind confidence  and naivety of tenants, their inattention(carelessness) upon discussing the terms of the contract, legal illiteracy.

Typical signs that You are deceived (typical signs of fraud rent):

  • The person who presents as owner or as landlord refuses to give (show) documents for the apartment;
  • He/she refuses or evades to show you an identity paper;
  • He/she refuses to sign the rental agreement (lease) in writing;
  • He/she urges you to enter the apartment and pay him the full amount of the lease, because of the fact that an apartment is in demand, and there is a line of people willing to enter in it, while not providing the documents.

If the documents in an apartment were not provided and the agreement was not signed,  law breaker can transfer  an apartment for rent to others, and require you to leave an apartment. Most criminals act in organized group, use psychological pressure (especially for international  students, threatening with the militia, migration service, mobilization and forwarding  to the zone of  antiterrorist operation), using false identity papers  and uniform of law enforcement officers, etc.

To avoid the negative experience and not lose your money you should use the rules set out above.