Removing a tenant from a home can be difficult: when roads will lead to court is explained

Offers to resolve disputes amicably

The relationship between owners and tenants is not always good. Often conflicts and disagreements arise, one or the other party violates the terms of the contract. According to the real estate agent of the real estate agency “Vilniaus Turtas” Jolanta Petrauskaitė, when renting apartments, there are complaints from both owners and tenants. However, the real estate broker emphasizes that it is best to resolve all disagreements in a friendly and calm manner.

“The friendliness helps a lot, I also tell the owners that there is no need to get mad, because in such cases I leave the apartment even more messy or something,” says J. Petrauskaitė.

The real estate agent shared a recent conflict between tenants and apartment owners: “The last case was that tenants broke an apartment in three months. Yellow, linoleum toilet adheres to the legs. Two young girls lived in the apartment. In such cases, it is problematic to say that the deposit remains with the owner because the terms of the contract have not been met, hygiene requirements have not been met, and so on. “

The interlocutor goes on to say that in all cases of disagreement between tenants and owners, an attempt is made to resolve them amicably and arrive at mutually acceptable solutions. Also, according to the real estate agent, apartment owners for whom it is very important that the apartment be returned clean are offered to include a separate clause in the lease.

“Specifically, the contract states that the apartment must be returned clean, as accepted. Therefore, we generally include a cleaning fee in the contract if the tenant does not order the apartment himself. What that fee depends on the apartment. Previously, the fee was 50 euros, now prices have increased considerably, cleaning a house can cost 60 euros and sometimes 100 euros. If the apartment is newer, in better condition, we also register a cleaning fee of 100 euros “, – J. Petrauskaitė shares the practice.

The real estate agent continues that another object of the dispute is the damaged furniture. According to J. Petrauskaitė, the owner is responsible for the natural wear and tear of the appliances in the apartment, but if the furniture is intentionally broken, the glass and mirrors are broken, in such cases the tenants must take responsibility, the owners even have the right to terminate the lease.

Delfi Būstas asked the interlocutors if the same eviction conditions apply to tenants who have minor children and if there are no more problems when the family does not want to move, but the owner insists. According to J. Petrauskaitė, such situations are rare, but real estate owners still avoid renting homes to families with young children.

“We have included a clause in the contract where the children would live if the family had to move. It affects the owners more psychologically, so they are not afraid to rent, they are calmer. On the other hand, legally, that point does not mean anything. Yes the terms of the contract are violated, it is also possible to evict tenants with children, ”explains the real estate agent.

Lawyer: tenants with minor children can also be evicted

Lawyers Arūnas Bertulis explained to Delfi Būstas in which cases it is possible to evict tenants who do not have minor children and those who do. First, it should be mentioned that the best way to terminate the contract is through an agreement between the two parties. This applies both when tenants have minor children and when they do not. But you really don’t always manage to stand out in a tenant-friendly way. When tenants, after the end of the lease (and without renewal) or the termination of the lease, still remain in the apartment and refuse to move out, do not accept the termination of the contract, etc., they have to go to the cut.

According to attorney A. Bertulis, the Civil Code does not establish exceptions that prohibit or restrict the termination of a rental contract for housing with tenants with minor children or the eviction, therefore, the termination of a rental contract with a tenant with or without minor children, as well as a tenant with or without minors, forced evictions must necessarily be brought only in court.

“ It should be noted that in a dispute regarding the termination of a contract with tenants with or without minor children, the courts apply the strictest applicable legal remedy – confiscation – individually and have the discretion to apply or not to apply such measure, necessarily evaluating the proportionality of said measure. says the lawyer, who soon explains that the presence of minor children in such cases will only be an additional criterion when considering the termination of a lease and not the preservation of the tenant’s right to housing, since the principle of the right of the child to development en Living conditions must be guaranteed in the first instance by the child’s parents.

According to A. Bertulis, when considering disputes regarding evicted tenants with minor children, having children could determine only the term of execution of the judicial decision to evict, but not the possibility of eviction itself, i. and. The court, taking into account the interests of minor children, may decide to postpone the enforcement of the decision to evict the tenant without providing other housing, due to the tenant’s ability to find other housing or otherwise guarantee the right of minors. to the house.

“It should be noted that, in any event, the landlord’s rights would also be guaranteed, as the tenant would have to pay the rent, and the rent paid for the use of the home at the end or termination of the contract would be doubled.” Therefore, a longer stay in the rented premises would be economically detrimental to the tenant and would encourage him to move voluntarily as soon as possible, “emphasizes the lawyer.

When the tenant has to move out

In which cases does the tenant have to move and rent a home? According to attorney A. Bertulis, for the landlord to evacuate tenants, the lease must expire (for example, upon expiration of a term or other condition agreed upon by the parties and specified in the lease), or upon termination of the lease leasing in the cases provided by the Civil Code. negligence in the deterioration of the condition of the object or not paying the rent to the tenant) or in additional cases and not agreed by the code agreed by the parties (for example, the tenant does not insure the house or its civil liability), as well as in case of invalidation of the lease. Of course, the type of lease between the tenant and the landlord, whether fixed-term or open-ended, is also important.

“Given that the concluded fixed-term housing lease has the right to be terminated at any time by both parties with three months’ prior notice, in the event of concluding a fixed-term housing lease, you can discuss and specify longer notice periods. In the meantime, when concluding an indefinite lease, it is important to discuss and indicate only those cases of expiration or termination of the housing lease, which are not specified in articles 6.497 or 6.498 of the Code Civil In the cases specified in the Code, an indefinite lease can be terminated without including such conditions in the lease, “explains the lawyer.

Also, according to A. Bertulis, the landlord (landlord) should know that they can terminate the fixed-term lease ahead of time only after having sent the tenant a written notice of need, complying with the obligation, or eliminating violations within within a reasonable time, but the tenant, upon receiving said warning, has not fulfilled his obligations or has not resolved the breach within a reasonable time. The interlocutor also emphasizes that the landlord cannot arbitrarily evict if the tenant does not agree to move out of the rented dwelling.

“It must be emphasized that the lease of a residential premises can be declared invalid, it can be terminated, just as individuals can be expelled from the residential premises only by court order, and in accordance with a lawsuit filed by an owner. The actions Arbitration by the landlord when discharging the tenant may incur administrative or, in exceptional cases, criminal liability for the landlord, as well as criminal liability, ”emphasizes the lawyer.

According to A. Bertulis, it is important that the landlord only notify the tenant appropriately and in a timely manner by giving them a notice of contract termination, because in some cases landlords terminate the lease without notice or before the end of the tenancy period. mandatory notice. In such cases, a tenant who avoids or improperly performs the lease will avoid liability, i. and. the leasing relationship will continue and the landlord will have to repeat all termination procedures again, go to court and wait for the process to end.

“From my many years of practice, I can say that if a party sticks to the motives of a lease or its termination, there are no problems defending their rights in court.” On the other hand, it is also important that the tenant knows their rights, the reasons and the procedures to terminate the lease, both under the contract and the Civil Code, and that they actively defend them by requesting both the court and the forced eviction police, “says the interlocutor.