Whereas in a lease the tenancy is between the owner (landlord) and the tenant, in a sublease the (sub)tenancy is between the tenant and the subtenant who rents the leased property from him. The difference between a lease and a sublease is therefore that in the case of a lease, the property or part of it is leased from the owner, whereas in the case of a sublease, the property is leased from the tenant (landlord), for which the consent of the owner of the property is required in the case of a legal occupation.
Subletting
Although subletting is no longer common in Hungary, it still exists in certain cases. The existence of the consent of the owner is an important element, in particular because if the tenant sublets the property with the consent of the landlord (owner), the subtenant is liable for the subtenant's conduct as if he were using the property himself. At the same time, if the tenant transfers the use of the property to the subtenant without authorisation, he is liable for any damage that would not have occurred without this, for both unforeseeable and unforeseeable obstacles (force majeure).
It is important to note that if the owner of the property subsequently becomes aware that a tenant has sublet his property without his consent, he is entitled to terminate the tenancy agreement, which also means the end of the sublease!
What does subletting mean in practice? Let's look at an example:
Agnes rents her flat to Eva. They sign a tenancy agreement, which allows Eve to rent Ágnes' flat to another person(s). Eva moves into the flat, and after six months she takes advantage of her contract and rents out a room in Ágnes' flat to Claudia in order to reduce costs. In this situation Claudia becomes the subtenant, Eva the landlord and Ágnes the owner/landlady.
The lease
As mentioned above, in the case of a tenancy, the tenancy is established between the landlord (landlord) and the tenant. Let's look at an example of this:
Zoltán inherited an apartment, which he cleared out and renovated. He rented out the finished apartment to a young couple, Nora and Peter. Zoltán does not live in the property, it is used exclusively by Nora and Peter. Zoltán is the owner, while Nóra and Peter are the tenants.
If we as owners want to avoid that our rented property is sublet by our tenant, it is advisable to include this prohibition in the rental contract. As a prudent landlord, we should ensure that the property is not used by anyone other than the tenant as a living accommodation. If you do not have the capacity to check regularly / live far away from the rental property, a property manager can help you a lot in this respect and take the burden off your shoulders.
It is worth bearing in mind that both rental and sub-let contracts are only valid in writing!
The most important elements of a contract are covered in detail on our blog, but the most important elements include the following:
- the subject of the contract;
- the exact description of the rental property;
- the duration of the tenancy (fixed term / indefinite);
- The rights and obligations of the parties;
- the determination of the rent and when and how it is to be paid;
- the provisions relating to the deposit;
- breach of contract and consequences;
- termination of the contract; etc.
n matters not covered by the rental and subletting contract, the provisions of Act LXXVIII of 1993 on Certain Rules for the Lease and Disposal of Dwellings and Premises (the Housing Act) and Act V of 2013 on the Civil Code (the Civil Code) shall prevail.
Anna Poropatich
lawyer
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