Apartment rental in Poland: Termination of the agreement before the date

Hello everybody,

I am currently living in an apartment in Krakow, for a 6 months rental, and unfortunately the apartment is very cold and I already got sick and missed work.

It caused serious problems actually.

What I would like to do, is to leave this apartment and find another one, warmer and smaller.

The fact is, I have a 6 months agreement concerning this flat.

My polish friends told me that I can leave the apartment but I will have to notice the owner one month before the month of leaving and I will have to pay the rent.

Basically, if I tell him now, I have to pay for december but I can leave whenever I want or even stay until the end of december. they told me that the deposit has nothing to do with it and I will take it back.

As the agreement between I and the owner stated that I have a 6 months rental period, I would like to know in your opinion if there will be any problem if I decide to leave the apartment.

Thank you very much for your help.

Regards

Generally, you can't terminate this agreement because it's a fixed-term contract. You can demand from the lessor to warm up the place in a given period (I suggest 7 days) and if you won't still be able to heat it up to at least 20 degrees, you can terminate the agreement without the notice.

You'll still have to inform the lessor on writing that you did it and call him to take the keys back.

Polish norms say that you must be able to warm the apartment to at least 20 degrees. If it's not possible you can say that it's harmful to your health which allows you to terminate the contract.

All the letters shall be send with acknowledgment of receipt (small yellow form in the post office)

Excellent advice.

However, you might want to remember that it is very unlikely that any flat landlord in Poland will ever take you to court; they don't pay rent and that makes them very vulnerable when it comes to legal action and/or threats to report them to the tax office.

That's often true, but not always. There are plenty of lessors who pay taxes. There are some who don't pay taxes and can take the case to the court too :) I advise to be careful

Hello,

Thank you for your answers. It`s very helpful.

I bought a thermometer in order to get to know what`s the temperature inside.
Basically, it varies from 19 degrees to 21 degrees, depending of the hour. It`s getting cold around 9pm as the heater is slowed down to prevent high electricity cost.

The worst part is the bathroom : around 16 degrees. There is a heater in the bathroom but I can`t figure out how it works. I asked he owner to pass by the apartment, but he didn`t answer to my request. He only writes me back when it`s about money. I`m so ****** now.

Anyway, I read again my contract and it notices that the terms are for 6 months. So I guess I`m completely f****.

Because, if I can leave this apartment, I don`t care to pay one month rent for nothing, it`s not big deal. But 6 months becomes a lot of money.

I`ve been in Poland for 3 weeks now, and all this kind of paper work, sending letters to this owner sound like a pain in the ass for me.

I read something interesting in the contract : it says that if I don`t pay the rent, the owner can finish the agreement. Maybe if next month I move to another apartment and I tell him I won`t pay it will be ok. Maybe I will loose the deposit.

Anyway, what a disapointment, I was so stupid to not take in consideration the heating and height of the roof when visiting. Such a nightmare now.

19 - 21 doesn't sound so bad. It's actually healthy. Bad thing about the bathroom heating. It shouldn't be so low, because then condensation can cause fungi to grow. If you don't care to loose 1 month rent then you can spend same money on electric heating during next few months.

16 degrees in the bathroom is far to cold - it's a legitimate basis to terminate the agreement without a notice. You only must give your lessor a chance to fix this problem which means that you have to notice him about it an give him some time to fix it (7 days will be enough).

When he fails you'll be able to terminate the agreement - just get proofs that temperature is so low (pictures, witnesses).

Do it by the book ;)

If you want we can legally assist you with it - en.legate.pl

It isn't that cold, however if the guy's nesh about low temperatures he should just get a heater.

Cheaper than moving apartment and far cheaper than getting a lawyer.

I just read the guy's second post. There is a heater in the bathroom. It would be sensible to figure out how it works (perhaps ask a friend, perhaps check on the internet).


Any judge would **** themself laughing given that the bathroom does have a heater but the guy never switched it on.

if there's a heater that works (or can work) everything looks different indeed. Sorry, I've missed this part somehow.
I suppose that when the temperature goes up in the bathroom, it will go up in the whole apartment and will be higher then 20 degrees.

I must revoke what I've said earlier


You will have to contact somebody who'll show you how the heater works.

Merged: Termination of the agreement before the date - rental

Hello,

I'm living since 4 months in my current appartment but I will move out shortly because I will move out due some reasons. I have a contract of 1 year and the following sentence is written in my contract:

"Umowa niniejsza zostaje zawarta na okred od [date] do dnia [date] z 3 miesiecznym okresem wypowiedzenia."

Now I have heard stories that you can cancel your contract but some people say no you can't due it's for a fixed period.

I hope someone can let me know if I am able to cancel it or not, thanks!

Anne

Hi, even if you terminate the contract now and move out of the apartment now, the landlord may try to force you to pay a 3-month rent because of the notice period. However, it's very doubtful that they would take your case to court.:)

I was wondering, since the fix-term contract should/cannot be terminated, and in case im moving town due to relocation of my company, is it possible to just terminate the contract by not paying the 1 or 2 months usually agreed in the contract to be evicted? or there will be any repercussions ?

Merged:

Leaving 1 Year Apartment Rental 1 Month Early. Poland

I rented a flat for 1 year in Warsaw. The unit had a lot of issues and I decided to leave 1 month early. 11 months has been paid in full on time and the last month I told the owner to keep the 1 months deposit when I first rented.

The owner is not happy. He is never happy. He seems a little out of touch and not the most friendly of people.

I would like to ask if there is anything legally he can do but of course being cost effective on his part?

He's not likely to bother taking any action against you. I wouldn't worry about it.

Are you serious Mr Atch,to give this advice.By law he has to pay the rent and the landlord has to return the security.I know some people who take the tenants to courts for this and get judgements against them which is easy and dont take long either, .Then the komurnilk\\k stuff follows.How can you advice someone with an illegal advice.Please sir dont make these people do illegal things.

Not that easy, and such cases can be spun out for a very long time, almost ad infinitum. Plus, it would be a very bad idea for any 'landlord' to even think about it unless they've declared every last penny of income from that flat. And far from all of them, to say the least, have declared even a groat.

Firstly I'm not a man and secondly I'm not advising him to to do anything. I'm answering his question as to the likely result of his actions. Yes, in theory, the additional month's rent is a security deposit to insure against damage caused by a tenant or cleaning costs if they leave the place dirty. It's not supposed to used in lieu of rent.

However, if the tenant has left the place clean and in the condition he found it, then the security deposit would be returned to him, therefore the landlord incurs no loss if the tenant uses it in lieu of rent and he has no reason to sue. In any case as the amount is only a month's rent, the time and cost for a landlord in bringing an action is hardly worth it. If the tenant leaves owing several months rent it's rather different.

If the tenant has had ongoing issues with his landlord as he says, then he may be concerned that the landlord will try to retain the security deposit. Unsrcupulous and dishonest landlords have been known to do that.

Oh,Sorry I didn't read your profile,that you are a Lady.I visulaised you as a a typical moustached Pole.My bad I am sorry again.Also there are good and bad landlords everywhere,he can always go to court to get his deposit back esp when there are e courts for this kind of cases.

@Jon,How are you so sure that landlords don't declare there rental income?Most do and if the tenant blames that he is liable of a nice law suit.

Lol. I nearly died laughing. Btw ladies can have facial hair too, why dwarven females have beards.

I learned myself from experience when renting something from an almost middle aged lady in Warsaw who is a ksiegowa or accountant named Irena Niesłucho and an incredible ***** not only that but dishonest that you should sign and check everything with these females in Poland or they will scrub any money they can get away with off you and basically I learned that they have these laws here were most contract for lease say you have to let them know not one but two months ahead of time from the end of the month of the current month you give the wypowiedz from. basically if you let them know on the 15th (and to be official it has to be in writing and received by them through mail or in person) than it is two months from the end of the month not from the 15th. They have these weird polak wording like "skutecznosc pod koniec miesiaca wypowiedzi w aktualnosci dwa miesiace od wypowiedzenia" so unless you are a native speaker in poland or know the Polish law system and jargon you still would not understand it. Not only that but my current landowner in old town warsaw lives in the uk and doesnt answer my calls nor emails and only when I pay he gives me a call nor do I have gas installed or an oven but he claimed he was in the process of doing it when I rented and I have a six month lease with him again with that 2 month ahead of time end of agreement contract but only effective toward end of current month he gets my mail or signs it. Well the thing was this lady I previously rented from would not even fix anything and acted stupid like stopped communicating with me briefly toward end of my one year contract with her and only at the end send me her new stipulations if i was to renew with her. She lives in Wroclaw and is named Irena and her last name starts with a nie and it has something to do with hearing. Very strange person but typical for these uncultured people in this country. Two of the stove slots worked at first or I thought, but in reality only one at a time did. Because I had some fmaily visit and they tried cooking using two stoves and after a while one would go out so only one at a time worked. Also, the first time she came over to fix something 9the door to bathroom had no lock and a chair was falling apart) she turned three on somehow for a second but the third only after some serious fiddling. So when my family came and we found out only one works at a time I called her asking if she can pay for a fix or have a handyman come and right away she started saying "wait a second. three of them worked right when I came and we checked?" she turned it right away into it working and being fine and her not having to fix anything (typical polak response as many of you noted how they take no responsibility anything esp clerks in stores and constantly need exact change) so I had my family talk to her to explain to her before I got pissed and started yelling and having to move out of the blue or wgo knows what would follow and they could prove I am not lying or making things up as I had witness. So she agreed with that other person to a fix or to pay for it but later told me only at end of the month during my next rent pay to take out that ammount and she was suppsoed to have been notified of the person and price first. She also did not want to pay for a windows fix we did due to them leaking air and bugs coming in. So when the year came up I moved but this guy like I said is not too much better. Weird people here.

But get this when I moved into the new place some fat old lady who claimed she was a cop or owner of the whole block when in reality she was some polak term called Podrzadowniczca or some crap assaulted me and I called the cops on her and they explained I cant press charges or they cant arrest someone for hitting you here unless you have evidence of an injury lasting a week. She started confronting me over every little thing where I park my hulajnoga or skooter and right away actually started asking me where I lived and who I am then telling me I cant throw trash at the further one because other block throws it there and then when I said ok she tried telling me she can fine me if I dont recycle right. Polaks again for you. So I let it go then and didnt say anything but one day I lost it when she went all the way to my buildings door from courtyard telling me I cant park my hulajnoga isnide near the railings and I simply asked why and she started threatening to cut my cord (at the time I had a non metal but cheap one I bought metal for this situation right after) and I told her I will move it but dont try to tell me where I can or cannot park my skooter. She actually tried to force me to keep it inside my house. ANd get this, the owner who hardly responds to me was complicit to her and called one time about her complaint to him. Thats the only time he calls is when it seems there is soemthing that is niewygodnie or bugs him in some way but nothing to do with any descency or if something bugs someone else or if there are question the person paying him rent has. Anyway before I get to that let me tell you how she ended up assaulting me. I moved it but as I went inside my place I had this feeling I was bothered this trash uneducated polak baba with nothing to do but sit there outside policing people or putting people down to make herself feel better. So as I walked by I told her simply she should find something to do than bug people about small thing like where they park a skooter. She started yelling some crap at me gowno or **** so I told her she is gowno or **** then the argument esculated and she ran at me telling me she will teach me a lesson kicking me in the shin. I recorder her the whole time on my phone and rather than shove her in the bushes and have to move again due to that lame landlord probably taking her side (this was before I found out he actually would as he called me later when again she complained about me parking it but this time near some little fence she claimed was ozdobny or antique andthreatened him she will get the cops to fine me for it because its a special fence). Anyway, I will stop for now.

But the bottom line is those cops did absolutely nothing to her. They even refused for me to show them proof in the voice she hit me. When she ran at me she sounded like a child angry someone told them something they didnt want to hear because she said "nie bedzie mnie nikt tykal" loud to her female friend sitting behind her on a bench. Basically she said no one will be touching my space in arrogant fashion. I replied, how did I touch you invisibly? I just do not know how to talk to Polaks in Polakistan low life language so thats all that came out of my mouth.

That's what Polish people are: petty, always snooping, always suspicious, often angry.
Run, baby, run. I did.

ME TOO,I did see Mrs/Miss Atch walking on the passage at Henryk sienkiewiecz.NO COMMENT.

Most don't. Generally the ones who want cash.

If I was renting I would always pay by bankers transfer from one account to another so that there would be proof of payment. All interactions must be recorded i.e. by email, texts or anything, but always on paper. It is always better to have independent witnesses who are mentioned in all correspondence. Never, but never engage in any conversation which might escalate into a shouting match, just act dumb and tell them you don't understand.

Merged:

How to terminate a lease agreement before the final date in Poland

Hi there!

I signed a residential lease agreement in November 2019 for 1 year and I want to terminate it before the final date.

I tried to negotiate with the landlady and she doesn't agree with anything, not even monetary offers. The only option she gave me is to find a new tenant. I'm not sure how complicated will be to find someone now, especially during this coronavirus lockdown.

My contract doesn't say anything about penalties if I break the contract, so I believe I would need to come to an agreement with the landlady - but she's not open for it.

The only thing stated in the contract that I can do as tenant to break the contract is in case of serious failure or defect in the apartment (which is not the case):


Finally, contract says that anything else that is not stated there shall consider Polish Civil Code and the Act on Protection Of Tenants' Rights, Commune-Owned Housing Resources and The Amendment the Polish Civil Code:


Do you guys have any idea on how I can terminate the contract according to the law or if there is anything missing in the contract that I should look for that could help me on this matter?

Thanks,

JakeO

hi, i have a enquiry. can someone please give me a correct advice.

i have a fix- term contract for a rented flat in poland and my name is written as the second tenants name. There is nothing written in my contract about terminating the contact in the middle except that if the contract is broken then the deposit will not be returned and now its really difficult to live in the same flat with the main tenant because of some personal issues. i wanted to know if i can quit the contract because when i asked my landlord then he told me that if i want to break the contract then i will have to pay the entire amount till the end of the contract. i am a student and its not possible to for me to pay the entire amount. what does the polish law say about terminating a fixed contract ?I have been living in the same flat for 1 full contract and this is my second contract with the landlord and there is still 7-8 months before this contract ends.

You need to check the contract - does it specify exactly that the earlier termination will entail paying the entire amount? If so, you have no choice but to pay.


Check these sites in Polish:

poradnikprzedsiebiorcy.pl/-wypowiedzenie-umowy-najmu-na-czas-okreslony-a-oplata-za-czynsz
eporady24.pl/kara_za_wczesniejsze_zerwanie_umowy_najmu,pytania,18,124,9780.html]
morizon.pl/blog/zapytaj/wczesniejsze-zerwanie-umowy-najmu-a-oplaty-czynsz/