Rental housing market perked up in crisis: demand and offer are growing now. Usually when renting out the apartment, the owner and future tenant sign a contract.
Even if it`s not the first time you rent or rent out the housing, you might not know some stuff. We will tell you what you should pay attention to in the contract (and not only in the contract) and how to avoid common mistakes.
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Terms of contract
A short-term rent contract is a contract signed for a period of less than a year, long term contract — from 1 year to 5 years. If your contract has no terms, it is believed that it is signed for 5 years.
The main difference between short-term and long-term contracts — the terms of eviction of tenants. If the agreement is concluded for a period of more than 12 months, the tenant has a preferential right to conclude a new contract.
The owner is obliged to inform the tenants about a new contract three months before the end of the old one, otherwise it is automatically renewed under the same conditions.
Increasing the price
Most commonly, the disputes between owners and tenants are related to overdue rental payments and debts for public utilities.
To avoid “surprises” in the future, a contract about renting an apartment or temporary rental should prescribe not only payment amount and order of payment, but also conditions of its increasing. For example, indexing on 6-10% per year.
If such an item is not in the contract, the price may still rise, but under the civil code the owner has the right to do this not more than once a year. He is obliged to inform about that in advance in writing. If the tenant is against that – the contract is terminated unilaterally and without payment of a penalty.
Relations with the owner
Initially, you should clearly and in as much detail as possible negotiate, and most importantly, write all the details of your stay.
For example, owners often continue to come to the apartment they are renting out, even when the tenants are not at home. Such spontaneous visits can be a reason for terminating the contract.
Another frequent example is the change of the owner of an apartment, for example, when it has been sold. Lawyers stress out that this does not entail the cancellation of the contract — it continues with the new owner on the same conditions.
Who makes a repair
The contract must include the information about what you can change in the apartment or house http://jiji.ng/houses-apartments-for-rent and what you can`t change, including whether you can make a repair, because it is often written that “after the contract ends, the tenants undertake to return the housing in the same form in which it was rented out”. And you should pay particular attention to this phrase.
If it is determined that the tenants would hold the apartment repairs, while the lessor reduces the rental (sometimes up to 15-20%), this should be specified in the agreement.
“The inside” of the apartment
One of the most important terms of the contract — the fullest possible description of rented housing. This prevents the parties from mutual claims about the quality of repair and furniture.
We recommend you to write the document on condition of the apartment when moving in. It should describe in detail the condition of walls, floors, windows, plumbing and other things. If the owner leaves for use the furniture and home appliances, it makes sense to mention it in the document, with a detailed description of the property and its value.
Rent and rent out housing using the largest web portal of free ads – Jiji – here it is easy as can be!
