Termination of the contract

Termination for convenience

- the lease term may be either definite or indefinite

- leases for definite term expire after the end of such term. The contract shall contain exact provisions concerning the consequences if either party ends the contract before its due date of termination

- if the lease is for indefinite term and the contract does not have a provision on termination, the contract may be terminated by either party upon written notice untill the 15th of the month with the effect of terminating the contract on the last day of the following month.

Termination with cause

- the contract may have provisions of ending the contract with immediate effect if there is a breach of the contract by either party

- if the lease contract does not have provisions on specifiying the causes of termination with immediate effect, the Act on Housing regulates two scenarios: in cases considered severe (eg.: vandalism in the leased property) the contract may be terminated (with immidiate effect) with a written notice sent within 8 days from finding out about the causes. If the the breach of the contract is less severe (eg.: late payment) a written notice shall be sent with an 8-day deadline for payment, after that, the lease can be terminated by the last day of the following month. The termination period has to be at least 15 days.

If the tenant does not leave the apartment after the expiration of the termination period

- tenant shall pay fee for the period of usage which might be more than the rental fee

- the owner is entitled to initiate a civil action for evacuating the real property. The owner is eligible only to follow the official procedure, no other conduct is lawful to reclaim his / her proprety.

Official procedures

- if the lease contract was made and countersigned by the public notary the owner may ask for enforcement procedure from the public notary without filing a claim for evacuating the apartment at the court

- if the contract is not countersigned by the public notary (made by an attorney at law, signed by two witnesses or made by and between only the lessor and the lessee) first a lawsuit for evacuating the aparment needs to be filed by the owner. The court (or the public notary) may determinate a period (usually 15 days) in which the tenant needs to leave the property. If the tenant does not do so within the specified period the case will be transferred to the enforcement officer. The enforcement officer is entitled to ask for the help of the police if the tenant remain in the property after being addressed by the enforcement officer to leave the property.    

Moratorium on eviction

There is a moratorium effecting the eviction procedure between November the 15th and April the 30th. During this period none is allowed to be forced to leave the property even if the lease contract has been terminated, unless the owner successfully proves that he / she himself / herself has no other olace to stay at but the real property in question, or the tenant has been fined during the enforcement procedure.

Source: Utcajogász