Fixed-term flat rental agreement

Published byDocMuse

A Polish residential tenancy between private individuals for a set period: rent, deposit, utilities, each side's obligations and a handover record when the flat is handed over and returned. Under Polish law a fixed-term tenancy cannot be ended early except in the cases the agreement names, so this one names them. It is an ordinary tenancy; an occasional tenancy (najem okazjonalny), with the tenant's declaration before a notary, is a separate document.

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Common questions

Does a fixed-term flat rental agreement have to be signed before a notary?

No. Written form is enough — and it is required when the tenancy runs for more than a year, because without it the agreement is treated as one for an indefinite period (art. 660 of the Polish Civil Code). A notary is needed only for an occasional tenancy, where the tenant makes a declaration submitting to enforcement as a notarial deed.

Can a fixed-term tenancy in Poland be ended before it runs out?

Only in the cases the agreement lists (art. 673 § 3 of the Civil Code), which is why this one lists them: a job or studies moving to another town, loss of the main source of income, and a state of health that makes living there impossible. The landlord may give notice only on the grounds in art. 11 of the tenants' protection act, and the tenant may also leave at once when defects in the flat endanger health (art. 682).

What happens to the tenancy if the owner sells the flat?

The buyer steps into the tenancy in the seller's place (art. 678 § 1 of the Civil Code). The buyer cannot end it if the fixed-term agreement was made in writing with a certain date (data pewna) and the flat had already been handed over to the tenant (art. 678 § 2). A notary's certification of the date, for example, gives a document a certain date.

When must the landlord return the deposit after the tenancy ends?

Within a month of the flat being vacated. Only amounts owed under the tenancy may be deducted: unpaid rent, unpaid charges, the cost of repairing damage beyond ordinary wear (art. 6 of the tenants' protection act). The handover records made when the flat is handed over and when it is returned are what later show which damage happened during the tenancy.