Questions about what's standard or conventional in a tenancy agreement in Poland

Are the following things in a tenancy agreement standard? I ask because I have seen a few tenancy agreements now, and they don't all read the same when translated on Google.

The agreement stipulates the contract ends if I am late paying any sum due by more than 35 days, that the landlord can enter if I fail to respond to an inspection request, and a few other ods and sods. Are these normal? Another contract I saw from another landlord did not have them.

Could anyone clarify if these are normal for a residential tenancy in Poland ...

1/ Landlord's address - omitted/not stated (the only address is the property to be rented)

2/ Landlord not present - acting on behalf of someone else - possibly a relative - do they need to be present and for me to see them sign the contract or for their signature to be witnessed? Do they need to state their ID numbers on the contract? I have been asked for mine.

3/ The Tenant shall make available for inspection by the Landlord, the premises, but not more frequently than once a month after informing the Tenant to the indicated phone number: ......................... .. or e-mail: .......................

In case of emergency (accident, incident, inspection) and / or the inability to contact the tenant, the landlord has the right to enter the premises without his knowledge.

4/ Each Party shall have the right of early termination of the contract for the previous month's written notice occurring at the end of the calendar month.

5/ For late rent or other amounts due under the lease, later than by more than 35 days, the landlord may terminate the contract with immediate effect without notice.

If I pay cash for the first rent and deposit when I get the keys, surely I can expect a receipt?

How do I get the landlord to register me at the address with the required civic office?

Any tips on this stuff - much appreciated.

Hi In Wroclaw,


It can be normal, I have done this in the past.


They do not need to be present.
I would strongly advise that you get the power of attorney or the contract allowing this third party to represent the landlord otherwise he really could be anyone.


If you want to be more careful, you could ask to have the inspections in writing a month prior.

As for the 'emergency inspection', that could mean floods, fires, gas leaks etc... you could ask to clarify it in the contract.


Will you be registered in the property?

I am not certain this is totally legal in Poland but it is standard in contracts.


Have them change that to written notification two weeks (or one month i.e. the deposit)) rather than effective immediate.


You have to, otherwise there is no proof you paid.

If the landlord is paying tax, you could ask for a Faktura.


You will need the landlords signature or the POA giving the right to a third party to sign on behalf of the landlord.

Registering in a property is not ideal for landlords, you get different rights, especially if you are a single female parent.

Obviously I do not know the full ins and outs of your contract but to get them to clarify and negotiate 'reasonable' timelines would be my over all advice.

Thank you Sean, much appreciated.

I would like to change this part of my post, I don't know why but I misunderstood something.

35 days is your one month's deposit (and some) and it's normal for the tenant to have that time because it is covered by the deposit.

Landlords usually don't like to use the deposit for the last month's rent in case anything is broken because of the tenant.

So by "terminate", the landlord is saying if you're 35 days late I am coming round with "the boys" to throw you on the street or deliver you to your other stated eviction address?

I thought it was illegal to throw someone out like that. In the UK you'd be in serious trouble.

Worst I've ever been late with the rent was a week, but that's not the point - things can go wrong and nothing's impossible, so I don't like the idea of being out on day 36. Surely there should be some notice period. A law adviser I spoke to said it takes 3 months to legally evict. No idea if that's true but that's what they said. They said it's all in some law and no contract can dilute the law.

The codex, sure if that's what they said then that's it.


yes of course and if the banks were as forgiving, your point would be even better.
Many landlords have to pay off the mortgage, a tenant being 35 days late might mean the landlord paying the mortgage 35 days late, which the banks aren't so forgiving for.

You know what I mean.


Legally I don't think you can send 'the boys' around.


You can buy legal rent agreements in Woolworths in England, they also have a "one months notice" point.

I think they have to give you written notice one month prior but I am not a lawyer, so please don't take my word as gospel.

Thank you again, Sean. That's really great stuff, cheers :o)

(btw when you next go to England you'll find Woolworths shops have all closed, but you can get great bargains at a chain called Wilkinsons, where the stuff is usually good quality and good value, unlike the £pound-shops where the stuff is sometimes a nie nie)

Kodak and now Woolworths... tough times...tough times.

if you have a copy of this in Polish you can send to me in a message. I will have my husband look at it. he deals with leases every day.

JJB kicked 2000 out last week, the banks have kicked loads out too, and in some areas there the estate agents are stuffed rather than staffed.


Thanks Pip, someone else from the forum is looking at it, but thank you for your kind offer.

As I rely on money from the UK to pay the rent, this sort of failure is one reason why I don't like tenancies that are too strict on late rent payments:

bbc.co.uk/news/business-19846157

and I can say for an absolute fact my UK bank once mysteriously lost a scheduled bill payment - like it was never diarised by me. I didn't find out until the council tax people sent me a nasty letter. I've been doing those payments long enough to know what the Payment Arranged & Confirmed screen looks like and I always check it's in the column too with the right date. For no reason I know of, it vanished.

And some tenancy agreements have financial penalty clauses of 50zl for each day late, obviously a person would be a wally to agree to that, yet a lawyer (allegedly!) sent that back to me a few weeks ago and didn't strike it out, much to my shock. I'd have thought the Codex does not allow it anyway. That same lawyer (if he really is one!) failed to spot that the amount in numbers and words differed. I don't even speak Polish but a quick double check on Google Translate revealed that problem as well. The mind boggles!!!

A lawyer who is supposed to be looking out for me lets those errors slip through. Makes me think you can't rely on them, and are better off with Google...

seriously- my husband is a leasing agent- this is what he does from 9 to 5 every day. He can look at it for you, no problems.

I went through the contract myself as the lawyer was useless (if he is actually one) but discovered a few hours ago the fact that the landlord has now found another tenant who is happy to rent with those same clauses that I'm not happy about, so I no longer need to worry about it. I take legal stuff seriously so I always check what I'm signing, I know other people are less uptight about legal things, and being extra careful is one of my faults, but I've been scr"""ed over before in the UK when I took someone's word for something and a contract was 12 months and not the 6 I asked for, plus a few other little nasties were in it that may or may not have been neutralised by the UK's Unfair Contract Terms Act and the Housing Act.

But, when I get another agreement come in, and they're all a bit different so far!, I'll email it to you for your husband to check. Thanks again.

Merged: Questions on rent agreement

My rent agreement with land lord says the following point
"The Lessor shall guarantee to the Lessee undisturbed making use of the Property throughout the term of this lease."

Can i terminate the lease by giving him a prior notice or i will have to continue the apartment for the entire term?

Merged: Renewal of tenancy agreement & commission fee

Hello,

I appreciate your advice.

I have lived in krakow nearly one year and I would like to renew my tenancy contract. I have paid a commission fee (50%of rent) and a deposit to an estate agency when I entered in the flat last year. Now they have again asked me to pay the commission fee (100% of rent) for one year extension of the contract.

I think the commission fee is usually paid once only at the start of stay but not at every time when the contract is renewed. Also I think that 'commission fee' is an expense for marketing and advertising if my knowledge is right. Therefore when the flat has been rented, tenants don't have to pay any commission fees.

Am I right?

If so, I will claim that I am not going to pay the commission fee to the estate agency. Of course there is no written statement on the tenancy contract.

All advices are appreciated, thank you.

Kokolon

Yes it usually paid once,but maybe they are trying to copy as in the USA,some rental agents have started asking one months comission for every year as long the lease is signed for eg 5 years or so and some even demand it upfront but from the landlords esp agents representing anchor tenants as mcdonalds,wendys,walgreens etc.But this is Poland read your contract and refuse to pay if its not written.

If it was\\ written then you are bound to pay or find another place to rent its easy.

So don't pay it. Simple as that.

Also, do you have contact to the owner? If so, an email to him about the agent's claim you owe money might be in order.

Thank you Harry,

When I had another problem with the agency about the spare keys, I asked them to provide me of the contacting information for the owner of the flat. And they refused to give it. I know his name and address on my tenancy contact. So I can write to him..

kokolon

I'd suggest Googling him first and seeing if you can find a phone number. If that doesn't work, see if you can find him on Facebook or LinkedIn and send him a message that way. Using post will most probably be quite slow (he may very well not actually live at the address that you have for him, it may well be his official address and not where he really lives).


Happy to help.

Thank you again, Harry.


As you suggested, I googled his name and found it. I sent emails to his work address and LinkedIn account. Hope they will reach to him.

I have also asked my polish colleagues about this commission fee issue and they all rather criticised the estate agency. I completely agree with them. So if the owner does not reply to me or insists me to pay for it, who bothers me, I will move out.

My colleagues recommended to search flats on 'Gumtree', is that good? Because when I wan in London, 'Gumtree' was the one of infamous website as all problematic properties were on its list.

kokolon

HELLO,
I have given a month notice to owner through an email but he is not responding to my mail or phone calls, not sure why...i have agreement till this November but i am breaking due to personal reasons....so any suggestions or any problems i have to face with polish law here??

Thanks

Providing there's a notice period specified in the contract, there is no problem.

Assuming there is, to be on the safe side, send you should send your notice of quitting by registered post (with recorded delivery). Even if he doesn't pick up the letter, it is still valid under Polish law.