Why can't you just leave the premises without papers?
While the lease is in effect, the tenant is required to pay rent. Whether he vacated the premises or not does not matter according to clause 13 of Information Letter of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 66. The landlord has the right to demand payment for all months before the termination of the contract, along with late fees, fines for failure to comply with the terms of the contract and damages if the next tenant pays less - Art. 393, art. 393.1 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The amount is withheld from the deposit or collected in court.
It happens that the tenant pays additional compensation for refusing to rent without a good reason - Part 3 of Art. 310 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Determination of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 305-ES15-6784. Look for this provision in your contract. If there is a condition, the amount will be added to all other payments to the lessor.
As a result, you will pay rent along with many additional payments. Therefore, it is better to terminate the contract according to all the rules.
Example: the tenant did not terminate the contract
The entrepreneur rented 16 sq.m of retail space for a women's clothing store. Something went wrong: he didn’t deliver the goods, he didn’t start trading. After 5 days, I sent an agreement to terminate the contract and an act of return of the premises to the administration of the shopping center.
The landlord did not sign the agreement. According to the agreement, the tenant has the right to terminate the lease early only if the premises have become unsuitable for trade - and the store is in order. The entrepreneur ignored the objections of the shopping center administration and silently moved out.
The landlord went to court and demanded rent, late fees and a fine for closing the store contrary to the shopping center rules. The entrepreneur said in court that he had only used the premises for five days, was ready to terminate the contract and would file a counterclaim. The court objected: while the agreement is in force, rent must be paid, and the rules of the shopping center must be observed. Before the claim, a claim is written, so the counterclaim is not accepted.
As a result, the entrepreneur paid:
— 87,409 rubles rent;
— 47,527 rubles penalty;
— 20,000 rubles fine for violating the rules of the shopping center.
Case No. A65-3030/2017.
Reasons and circumstances
How to terminate the contract? What are the conditions and grounds for this ? There are various circumstances that can trigger this process.
Everyone is obliged to remember that in such a precedent the force of the law must always be taken into account, whether for the conclusion of a contract or its termination.
The tenant initiates the procedure for terminating the contract, and must also take into account the opinions of other people living in the rental area. It is the employer's responsibility to notify the lessor of the upcoming termination of the contract . The landlord himself also has every right to apply the effect of breaking the contract prematurely , before the expiration of the period specified earlier.
When the person who acts as the tenant, or his cohabitants, act unlawfully and deliberately damage the rented territory , make payment late or do not make it at all, then the landlord has the privilege to terminate the contract. Read about the rights and responsibilities of a landlord on our website.
How can you terminate a lease agreement early?
There are three ways to terminate a contract: by agreement of the parties, unilaterally and through court.
By agreement of the parties - when the tenant and the landlord agree to terminate the lease - Part 1 of Art. 450 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Unilaterally - when the fixed-term agreement has the right of the tenant to cancel the lease early with or without reason, by sending a notice - Part 2 of Art. 450, paragraph 6 of Art. 620 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. And at any time - with an indefinite lease - Part 2 of Art. 610 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Through the court - when the lessor is against terminating the contract, and there is a circumstance from Art. 620 Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Part 2, Art. 450 Civil Code of the Russian Federation:
- the landlord interferes with the use of the premises, for example, does not allow goods to be purchased;
- there were shortcomings in the room that were not noticed during acceptance, for example, a strong smell of paint from the workshop next door, and you have a coffee shop;
— the premises are in need of major repairs, but the tenant ignores this;
— the premises were burned, flooded or destroyed;
- on other grounds included in the contract, for example, in case of bankruptcy of one of the parties;
- in case of a significant change in circumstances that were not expected.
How to check whether you have the right to terminate a contract without court
Look for the tenant’s right to unilateral refusal in the last sections of the lease agreement with the names “Procedure for terminating the agreement” or “Final provisions”. At the same time, look at the rest of the text. The right could be “attached” to a clause about the tenant’s failure to fulfill his obligation, for example, to repair the premises.
If you do not find the right to unilateral refusal in the contract, try to come to an agreement between the parties. The landlord is unlikely to agree to terminate the contract on the same day. He needs time to find a new landlord, because an empty place is a loss of profit. Perhaps he will agree to sign an agreement to terminate the contract for the next month or the month after that.
The last option is to go to court. It will only work if there is a good reason from the previous section. In other cases, it is pointless to waste time and money for the sake of a 100% refusal in court.
It happens that the landlord does not have the opportunity to terminate the contract, so he has to pay rent. Because the option “to move out and not pay” is even worse.
What laws govern it?
The Civil and Housing Codes of the Russian Federation regulate the termination of a tenancy agreement.
This is clearly written in Part 2 of Chapter 35 of Article 687, Article 688 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Chapter 10 of Article 101-103 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation on the termination and termination of a rental agreement for specialized residential premises, which talks about the eviction of citizens from such premises.
What will happen to the deposit and repair costs?
By default, upon termination of the contract, the landlord returns the deposit to the tenant, as stated in Part 2 of Art. 381.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. There are other conditions in the contract. For example, if the tenant refuses to rent, the deposit remains with the landlord as compensation for losses or payment for the last month of rent.
The landlord reimburses the tenant for repair costs if he gave consent to the work - Part 2 of Art. 623 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The contract, again, has other rules, for example, crediting repairs for the first months of rent.
How to draw up a termination agreement
If you agree to terminate the lease, sign the agreement. This document confirms that your obligations are terminated.
The agreement is drawn up as the main contract. If you have the contract certified by a notary, bring the agreement to him. Registered in Rosreestr - termination is formalized there.
In the agreement, write:
- On what date does the lease agreement end?
- On what date does the tenant move out and return the premises according to the deed?
- How long does it take for the landlord to return the deposit and compensate for repairs?
- How long does it take for the tenant to pay the rent debt?
Return the premises according to the deed. Until you sign the deed, rent is charged.
How to cancel a lease with notice
Look in the contract to determine how long before moving out you must send the landlord a notice of early termination of the contract. In an open-ended contract, this is a period of three months - part 2 of Art. 610 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, but it is sometimes changed in the contract.
- Write a notice of early termination of the contract. If you refuse for some reason, please indicate it. Offer a deadline for returning the deposit and compensation for repairs.
- Send the notice to the landlord by registered mail with a list of the contents and a return receipt requested at the address in the contract. A description of the attachment will confirm that you sent the refusal message, and the receipt confirmation will confirm that the tenant received the letter. Instead, you can give the notice to the landlord against his signature.
- When the period stipulated by the contract has expired, the lease ends. Invite the landlord to return the premises and sign the deed. Until you sign the deed, rent is charged.
- We registered the lease with Rosreestr - contact them again to register the termination.
Algorithm of actions
How is the procedure performed?
Notice of termination of the agreement: in order to carry out the procedure correctly, after the appearance of pretexts for terminating the contract for the rental of residential premises, it is necessary to provide notice of its termination. This documentation is prepared in written form.
The form of termination depends on the form of the contract. For example, an agreement signed by the parties would be appropriate in this case if it was drawn up in writing.
One of the components of the procedure for terminating a contract for the rental of residential premises is drawing up an act of termination . Such an act contains information:
- about eviction of a tenant;
- about calculations;
- about accepting keys;
- about many other details.
The act also indicates the claims of the parties , cases of damage to property, if any.
When is a contract considered terminated? Termination of a document occurs when the parties enter into an agreement to terminate it. Also, an act is accepted as terminated when a court verdict on such termination comes into force.
Both parties have the right to terminate the contract early Since we are talking about the landlord, the reasons for such actions will be the facts of damage to property by the tenant, violation of the terms of the contract, and also late payment for rent.
In the event that such negative situations occur that the citizen who is renting the premises refuses to rent it out upon concluding a contract, or its condition is not suitable for living , then the tenant, accordingly, also has every reason to terminate the contract prematurely.
Registration of the termination of the rental agreement is appropriate only in such a situation if a contract for the rental of housing premises was previously registered.
How to terminate a contract through court
Before going to court, you must offer the landlord in writing to draw up a termination agreement - Part 2 of Art. 452 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
- Send the proposal by registered mail with a description of the contents and receipt of receipt to the address provided in the contract. Set a deadline for response - or it will be the standard 30 days.
- Get a refusal or wait until the deadline has passed and prepare for trial.
- Collect evidence of the violation. The unsafe condition of the premises, non-compliance with sanitary standards and similar circumstances are proven by examination. Death and damage to premises - certificates from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
- Write a statement of claim. Describe the circumstances, refer to the law. State your requirements. Disputes between entrepreneurs are considered by arbitration courts, and with the participation of individuals - by district courts. It is better to entrust the preparation of the claim to a lawyer. He will tell you exactly which court to go to, what to write and what documents to attach.
- Pay the state fee and submit the documents to the court.
- Attend court hearings under subpoenas. The court may ask for additional evidence of the reasons for refusing the lease.
- Get a court decision. In a month it will come into force. From this date the lease agreement is terminated
- With a decision, go to Rosreestr if the rental has been registered.
- Return the premises according to the deed and leave. Until you sign the deed, rent is charged.
Example: the tenant successfully terminated the contract through the court
The company rented an office of 166 sq.m. in the business center. Employees complained of feeling unwell at work. The director ordered an examination of the indoor air from the laboratory. It turned out that the air was polluted with toxic substances and did not meet sanitary standards.
The director dismissed the employees, removed the furniture, sent the landlord an agreement to terminate the contract and return certificates. The landlord did not sign the agreement.
The company filed a lawsuit to terminate the lease agreement and return the deposit of 251,397 rubles. A representative of the company brought the expert opinion to the court. He explained that due to harmful substances, office work is dangerous for people. Air pollution cannot be determined during inspection during acceptance of the premises.
The court agreed with the firm's arguments, terminated the contract and collected the deposit.
Case No. A56-91456/20162.
