Extension of a residential lease agreement

Renting residential premises is regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Property owners who do not plan to live in an apartment for a long period prefer to rent it out and receive passive income. Such transactions occur quite often.

The law requires that a tenancy agreement be concluded in writing. If its term is more than 11 months, it is subject to registration with Rosreestr, since long-term lease is considered as an encumbrance on real estate. This is a paid procedure that also requires time, so citizens prefer to draw up an agreement for a period that does not require entering information into the register. If, after the expiration of the period specified in the document recording the transaction, the legal relationship between the landlord and the tenant has not terminated, the contract must be extended.

Legal regulation of prolongation

Renting residential premises is regulated by Chapter 35 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. To nuances that are not established by the articles of this section, rental provisions can be applied. In particular, the extension of a lease agreement is regulated by Article 684 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It must be applied based on the period for which the transaction was concluded.

According to the provisions of the law, the landlord is obliged to notify the tenant of the desire to extend the contract on the same or different terms or of the intention to terminate the relationship three months after the expiration of the period for which the transaction was concluded. The form of such a notice is not regulated, so this can be done in a personal conversation. But it is recommended to use a written notice, since if controversial situations arise, it will serve as evidence in court proceedings. This type of notice should be used especially if a trusting relationship has not developed with the employer or there have been some conflicts.

The notice of renewal or unwillingness to renew the contract is drawn up in two copies. One of them is given to the employer. He must put his signature on both copies, which will confirm the fact that the tenant has been notified. The landlord can also send the notice by registered mail with a list of the contents and a receipt confirmation.

Depending on the period for which the transaction is concluded, contracts can be divided into:

Short term. They are issued for 11 months and are not subject to state registration. This type of agreement is the most common, since it does not require additional time and money costs associated with entering information into the register.
Long-term. They are concluded for a year or more. The law limits the maximum rental period of residential premises to a five-year period. They require mandatory state registration.
No expiration date specified. According to paragraph 1 of Article 683 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, such agreements are considered concluded for five years.

The extension must be made depending on the period for which the contract was concluded.

General provisions for changing the terms of contracts

Changes to the contract should be made by concluding an additional agreement to this contract. Moreover, in accordance with clause 1 of Art. 452, the agreement to amend the contract is concluded in the same form as the contract itself.

Changes to rental agreements - additional agreement to the rental agreement

If you rent out residential premises (for example, an apartment) to an individual , then you should enter into a rental agreement , the relationship under which is regulated by Chapter. 35 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, if you need to make changes, you will need to enter into an additional agreement to the rental agreement. An additional agreement to a rental agreement is drawn up in simple written form, and, like the agreement itself, it does not require certification by a notary or any registration.

Changing residential lease agreements - additional agreement to the lease agreement

If you rent out residential premises (apartment, room, house) a legal entity, then instead of a lease agreement you will need to enter into a lease agreement (read more about the differences between a lease agreement and a lease agreement). Here I would like to remind you that a lease for an apartment (or other premises) concluded for a period of more than 1 year is subject to state registration (clause 2 of Article 651 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). This means that an additional agreement to such an agreement must also be registered in the prescribed manner . Such additional agreement will come into force accordingly from the moment of its registration.

As for changes to lease agreements concluded for a period of less than 1 year , additional agreements to change the terms of such agreements are concluded in simple written form .

Once again, we draw your attention to the fact that neither the lease and rental agreements themselves, nor additional agreements to them, regardless of the terms of the agreements, require certification by a notary.

Possible reasons for changing contracts

The starting point for changing the contract can also be the terms of the contract itself. So, for example, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 682 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, under a rental agreement (within its validity period), a unilateral change in the amount of payment is not allowed, except in cases provided for by law or agreement.

That is, if the contract clearly stipulates cases when the rent is changed unilaterally, then for such a change it will be sufficient to send a notification by the initiating party.

A similar procedure can be prescribed in contracts for changing conditions other than fees. But since we are talking here about the right to change unilaterally, all wording should be as clear as possible and not allow for double interpretation.

Extension of short-term hire

In a short-term relationship, one of the parties must contact the other with a notification of the desire to renew the document on the same or different terms. After reaching consensus on this issue, the parties to the transaction draw up an additional agreement in writing.

It must be taken into account that if the additional agreement specifies an extension of the contract term, for example, in the wording: “the period for providing the premises is increased by 10 months” and the total period is more than a year, the lease becomes long-term. In this case, all provisions regarding long-term employment will apply to the legal relationship.

If the parties establish by means of an additional agreement a new period not exceeding 11 months, the lease remains short-term. To do this, it is necessary to indicate in the text of the agreement the beginning of the period from the moment of signing the additional agreement.

For short-term hiring, the provisions of Article 684 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the preemptive right of extension and automatic prolongation do not apply. If the parties have not notified each other of their desire to continue the legal relationship or have not reached consensus on the terms, the contract is terminated due to the expiration of the period for which it was concluded.

Extension of an apartment rental agreement

There are some peculiarities when renewing a lease agreement. As we noted above, a lease agreement concluded for a period of “at least 1 year” is subject to state registration.

Accordingly, if, when extending an agreement initially concluded for a period of less than 1 year, its term ends up being a year or more, such an agreement will already have to be registered.

If for some reason you don’t want to deal with registration, then you should end the relationship under the first agreement by signing the appropriate agreement, and then conclude a new agreement, also for a period of less than 1 year.

If the original contract has been registered, its renewal must also be registered.

In accordance with Art. 621 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the tenant also has a pre-emptive right to conclude an agreement for a new term. But in accordance with the same article, the agreement may also provide for other conditions for concluding a new agreement. That is, in this case, under a lease agreement, the parties have more freedom to choose conditions than under a rental agreement.

Extension of a long-term lease agreement

If the contract was concluded for a year or more, the employer has the preemptive right to prolong it. So, the owner of the apartment must offer to extend the lease first of all to him. Only after refusal will the landlord be able to enter into an agreement with another tenant. If the apartment owner does not plan to rent out the property in the next year, he has the right not to renew the deal upon expiration. But, if during this period he enters into a new contract with another tenant, the previous tenant has the right to appeal his actions in court and receive compensation for the damage caused.

In case of long-term employment, if neither party notified the other of the desire to extend the contract and the participants did not stop fulfilling their obligations, the deal is automatically extended under the same conditions and for the same period.

After the extension of the long-term rental agreement, it must be registered again with Rosreestr, since the encumbrance of the property has continued.

What to do if you rent an apartment and need to renew your lease?

October 13, 2014

Let us remind you what a rental agreement is. To do this, let's turn to the legislation. The essence of the definition boils down to the following: under a commercial lease agreement, the owner of a residential premises transfers to the tenant (tenant) an apartment for temporary residence for a fee (Article 671 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Each contract includes essential conditions (those without which the contract will be considered not concluded) and non-essential ones. In our case, there are only two essential conditions: the subject of the contract and the payment for the premises. There are more unimportant ones: the term of the contract, the number of people living in the apartment, the procedure for paying utility bills (an agreement on who exactly will do this), the possibility of repairing the apartment, etc.

Extending the contract

Although the term of the contract is not essential, it is very important, and some nuances are worth paying close attention to. So, according to paragraph 1 of Art. 683 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a rental agreement for residential premises cannot be concluded for a period exceeding five years. But if the period is not specified, the contract will be considered concluded for five years.

Important!

State registration of a residential lease agreement is not provided for by law, regardless of the term of the agreement.

The tenancy agreement may be short-term

(concluded for less than a year) and
long-term
(from a year or more).

In accordance with Art. 683 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, when concluding a short-term rental agreement, a number of restrictions apply to the employer:

you cannot move anyone into the apartment;
It is prohibited to rent out an apartment under a sublease agreement;
there is no pre-emptive right to conclude a new contract after the expiration of this one;
In the event of the death of the tenant or his departure, the contract terminates.

However, the above restrictions will cease to apply if opposite conditions are specified in the contract (for example, stipulating that the tenant has the right to rent out the premises under a sublease agreement).

As for the extension of short-term and long-term contracts, there are some nuances here.

Short-term rental agreement for residential premises

If you decide to renew your rental agreement, you must contact the property owner before the contract expires. If an agreement is reached between you and you continue cooperation, then it is enough to draw up an additional agreement in writing to the main rental agreement (clause 1 of Article 450, clause 1 of Article 452, Article 467 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Please note that if the total duration of the contract and agreement exceeds one year, such a contract ceases to be considered short-term. If this is not profitable for you, then indicate a new term in the additional agreement, for example, with the following wording: “The rental period under the contract is extended by eleven months from the date of signing the agreement (the end date of the initial rental period).”

If you have not agreed with the owner on the terms (for example, they increase your rent or offer to start paying for utilities yourself, but this does not suit you), or neither you nor the landlord informed each other about the desire to extend, then the contract is automatically terminated due to with the expiration of its validity period (clause 2 of Article 683 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Long-term rental agreement for residential premises

If you rent an apartment and have entered into a long-term contract, after its expiration you will have a pre-emptive right to conclude a new agreement (paragraph 1 of Article 684 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Keep in mind that the owner of the property is obliged to offer you to conclude a new contract (on the same or different terms) no later than three months before the expiration of the contract or to warn you that he does not intend to renew the contract due to the decision not to rent out the premises for rent (at the same time, he will not be able to rent out the apartment to other residents for a year). If he has not fulfilled this obligation and you have not refused to renew the contract, the contract is considered renewed under the same conditions and for the same period.

If the owner refuses to renew the contract with you due to a decision not to rent out the premises, and within a year from the date of expiration of the contract with you you learn that the apartment has been rented to another person, then in such a situation you have the right to demand recognition of such the contract is invalid and (or) compensation for losses caused by refusal to renew the contract with you. Such norms are enshrined in Art. 684 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

If you decide to renew the rental agreement on the same terms, you do not need to notify the property owner about this. Except for the case when you decide to change the terms of the contract (for example, increase the number of people permanently residing in the apartment with you). Then with this proposal you must contact the landlord and enter into an additional agreement. Otherwise, the lessor has the right to terminate the contract due to the expiration of its term.

But if you have not agreed on the terms with the owner of the property, then the contract is terminated due to its expiration. In this case, the owner has the right to enter into a new contract with another tenant (Article 684 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

In our article, we examined in detail some of the nuances of renewing an apartment rental agreement. Follow the recommendations of the law - and you will not have problems and reasons for worry. And we wish you that the next contract you enter into will be an agreement to purchase your own home.

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Procedure for implementing the procedure

To renew a residential lease agreement, the parties should adhere to the following algorithm:

contact the other participant in the legal relationship and inform about the desire to extend the transaction;
agree on terms. If they are planned to be changed, the parties must come to a consensus, otherwise the contract is terminated due to the expiration of the term;
draw up an additional agreement, including new conditions if they have been changed;
register the extension of employment in Rosreestr. This must be done if the lease is long-term.

It is important to put the renewal agreement in writing because it will document the legal relationship between the parties and will serve as evidence in court if unresolved disagreements arise in the future. The document must indicate the following:

name, number and date of the agreement;
number and date of drawing up the main agreement to which the additional agreement is drawn up;
data of the parties in the same way as in the main agreement;
the issue of prolongation of the legal relationship. Parties who do not wish to register the encumbrance should note that the new period begins from the moment of signing this agreement;
reflection of changes in the terms of the main agreement. If the parties decide to increase or decrease the rent or other provisions of the document, this fact should be specified. If no changes are expected, this must be indicated;
a clause stating that the remaining terms of the main agreement remain in force;
the day on which the new document comes into force. Typically, this is the moment the agreement is signed;
date and signatures of the parties to the transaction.

The additional agreement must be concluded and signed by the same citizens who executed the main agreement. They can delegate this right through a notarized power of attorney to another person.

If the expiration of the main contract was missed, it is better to draw up an additional agreement retroactively. This will eliminate the emergence of controversial situations regarding the unregulated period of employment and possible litigation.

Registration of a long-term agreement in Rosreestr

State registration of a residential lease agreement is not provided for by law, regardless of the term of the agreement; however, a restriction (encumbrance) of the ownership of residential premises arising on the basis of a rental agreement concluded for a period of at least a year is subject to registration.

An application for registration of a restriction (encumbrance) of property rights is submitted to Rosreestr no later than a month from the date of conclusion of the agreement (clause 2 of article 674 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation; parts 2, 4, 5 of article 51 of Law N 218-FZ).

How to apply for an extension

The extension must be included in the text as a separate condition. Then counterparties will be able to continue working, and contract dates will be automatically moved forward. If the relationship is planned as long-term, it is advisable to include a clause on multiple extensions in the text.

When such a possibility is not indicated, a separate additional agreement is drawn up. It is important that the fundamental terms of the contract remain unchanged. Often the text includes a clause on automatic extension.

Before renewing, it is necessary to provide for all the nuances. For example, when deciding whether a GPC agreement can be extended with an additional agreement, clarify its subject matter. If this is a paid service, prolongation will classify it as labor and then problems with the inspection cannot be avoided.