Apartment hunting information everybody needs to know in Hungary

The university admission scores have just been determined and made public, which means that the chase for available apartments has already begun. Napi.hu has gathered some useful information to keep in mind if you are planning to move into an apartment while doing your studies.

Obviously, the main obligation of the lessor is to allow the lessee to use the property, while that of the lessee is to pay the rent and to preserve the state of the property.

You should also be aware that one important condition for the lease agreement to take place is to pay a certain amount of deposit, in which case the amount submitted cannot be more than three times the rent. On the contrary case, the lessee may request the Court to lessen the required deposit, D.A.S. Legal Expenses Insurance Ltd. says.

One of the most important obligations of the lessee is to pay the rent in time. Furthermore, one should be aware that the lessor has a lien on the lessee’s assets, which means that the lessor can impede the transportation of these assets as long as the lien exists.

Apart from the rent, the expenditures on the maintenance of the lease (overheads) is another recurring question. Therefore, the lessor must present the energy certification of the apartment prior to signing the agreement and to hand it over at the time of the conclusion.

Damages: Who pays what?

Another very important question is to determine who pays for which additional costs. Normally, the lessee is responsible for smaller expenditures, while the lessor pays for the bigger ones, such as building maintenance or ensuring the working order of the main household equipment.

As for who bears the costs of the maintenance, renovation, and replacement of covers, doors, windows and other furniture in the apartment, the mutual agreement of the lessor and the lessee is the guiding principle. In its absence, the lessee is responsible for paying the costs related to maintenance and renovation, and the lessor is responsible for the replacement of obsolete equipment and furniture.

If the damage is caused by the lessee, the lessor may demand the correction or the compensation of the damage.

Furthermore, the lessee should tolerate the necessary works done by the lessor in order to preserve the state of the lease; however, the lessee must not tolerate housing improvements. Before starting such works, the lessor must inform the lessee about the foreseeable duration of the works.

Do not let yourself be fooled!

What is also important to bear in mind, in addition to being aware of rights and obligations, is that some people may want to deceive less experienced clients. The D.A.S. Legal Expenses Insurance Ltd. claims that they more and more frequently experience that swindlers pretending to be lessors take advantage of prospective clients under pressure and disappear with the deposit collected. In order to avoid being involved in such situation, clients are advised to bring witnesses with them, check the identity of the lessor, take a look at the property deed at the local land office, and record everything on paper.

The lessee has to let the lessor in, if he wants to check the lease

The lessor is entitled to check whether the lessee uses the lease in accordance with the contract at least once a year, without unnecessarily disturbing the lessee. The lessee is obliged to make sure that the lessor can get into the apartment and to tolerate it.

Except for grand- or minor children, the lessee can only accommodate other persons with the prior written consent of the lessor.

On the other hand, the lessee is entitled to terminate the lease agreement in case the state of the apartment is harmful to health.

Button

Can the lessor sell the house while rented?

The lessee must let the prospective buyers visit the apartment, and in case a sales contract is concluded and thus the previous lessor is replaced with a new one, the original lease agreement remains in effect. The new owner of the apartment only has the right to terminate the agreement if it had been made for a definite term and the lessee deceived the lessor in its main conditions.

The lessee should also be aware that in case the lessee keeps using the lease after the period laid down in the definite term contract, and the lessor does not express any objection to this within fifteen days, the duration of the contract becomes indefinite, D.A.S. Legal Expenses Insurance Ltd. informs.

translated by Gábor Hajnal

Source: napi.hu