Lease law is built on a logic that protects the tenant, having regard to the imbalance of power between the parties. Eviction is therefore not a right the landlord may exercise freely, but an exceptional possibility resting on grounds exhaustively listed in the law.
Grounds for eviction
In leases of residential premises and roofed workplaces, eviction falls into two main groups.
Grounds arising from the landlord
- Need: A requirement for a residence or workplace for the landlord themselves, their spouse, descendants, ascendants or persons they are obliged to support. The need must be genuine, sincere and compelling.
- Reconstruction or substantial repair: The existence of development or repair work of a scale that will render use of the property impossible.
- The need of a new owner: A claim of need by a person who subsequently acquires the property, provided written notice is given within a specified period from the date of acquisition.
Grounds arising from the tenant
- Written undertaking to vacate: A written undertaking by the tenant to vacate the leased property on a specified date. The undertaking must have been given after the lease contract was concluded.
- Two justified warnings: The tenant having been justifiably warned twice within one lease year for failure to pay the rent.
- Non-payment of rent: Eviction on the ground of default, where payment is not made within the period given.
- The tenant or their spouse owning a residence in the same district: Provided the landlord was unaware of this when the contract was concluded.
Every ground for eviction has its own form of notice, its own notice period and its own period for bringing an action. A notice not given in due form will cause even a substantively justified claim to be dismissed.
Mandatory mediation
In disputes concerning the eviction of leased immovable property and arising from the lease relationship, applying to a mediator before bringing an action has been made a procedural prerequisite. Actions brought without this step are dismissed on procedural grounds without examination of the merits.
An important distinction: requests for eviction through enforcement proceedings fall outside this scope. No mediation requirement applies to eviction proceedings without judgment commenced on the ground of non-payment of rent.
Determination and increase of rent
The parties may freely agree the rate of rent increase; that rate cannot, however, exceed the rate of change according to the twelve-month averages in the consumer price index for the preceding lease year. Where the contract contains no increase provision, or in lease relationships that have continued for more than five years, the court may be asked to redetermine the rent.
Where the action for determination of rent is brought at least thirty days before the beginning of the new period, or the landlord has given written notice within that period, the rent determined takes effect from the beginning of the new period. Otherwise the determination takes effect only in the following lease year.
Practical recommendations
- Always make or receive rent payments through a bank, with a description entered. Payment in cash is the weakest method in terms of proof.
- Put the contract in writing; annex the deposit, common charges and fixtures list to it.
- If an undertaking to vacate is to be taken, structure its date and the time of its execution correctly.
- Send the formal notice through a notary; keep the date of service in your file.
