First of all, the obvious. An apartment for rent is not an art gallery. The proverbial four walls teem with life, which results in the exploitation of the apartment and its furniture and various types of equipment. Each of the landlords must be aware of this and it is best if he does not become emotionally attached to the equipment of the premises. An apartment for rent is simply a business based on pure calculation. And a stable business is built on mathematics, not emotions. However, wear and tear resulting from the normal use of the apartment is one thing, and damage caused by its improper use is another.
What is the risk of demolishing an apartment for rent?
If you are a tenant and you do not take care of the rented apartment, you face serious financial and legal consequences. The owner of the apartment, if he notices improper use of the apartment, should apply to the tenant with an official letter admonishing him and indicating the specific negligence and their consequences. The more precise the reminder is, the easier it will be to pursue claims in the event of an escalation of the phenomenon. If the reminder is ineffective, the landlord has the right to terminate the contract without notice, call the tenant to pay for the damages, and take legal action. It is also common practice to settle the damage from the deposit, if it has been collected.
Who is responsible for damage to a rented apartment?
To accurately answer this question, several different situations must be considered. We may be dealing with damage caused by the tenant in the apartment itself, in common parts of the building, but also caused to neighbors. For now, let's focus on the first ones regarding our apartment.
In accordance with the applicable law, after the end of the lease, the tenant is obliged to return the item in a non-deteriorated condition and is not responsible for wear and tear resulting from the normal use of the apartment. However, he is liable for damages that arose as a result of his omissions, negligence, intentional actions or do not fall within the normal operation
– says Piotr Kula, Rendin Polska Business Development Manager.
This is more precisely defined in the provisions of the Act on the protection of tenants' rights, housing resources of the commune and amending the Civil Code, which state that the tenant bears the costs of repair and maintenance:
Floors, floor coverings and wall coverings, ceramic, glass and other;
windows and doors;
Built-in furniture, including its replacement;
Kitchens and flow-through water heaters (gas, electric and coal), water heaters, bathtubs, shower trays, toilet bowls, sinks and washbasins with siphons, taps and taps and other sanitary devices that the premises are equipped with, including replacing them;
Fittings and protections of the electrical installation, excluding the replacement of wires and collective antenna accessories;
Coal and accumulation furnaces, including the replacement of worn elements;
Storey central heating, and if it was not installed at the landlord's expense, also its replacement;
Drain pipes of sanitary devices up to collecting risers, including the immediate removal of their obstructions;
Other elements of equipment of the premises and adjacent rooms by: painting or papering and repairing damage to plaster walls and ceilings, painting doors and windows, built-in furniture, kitchen, sanitary and heating devices.
The provisions of the act are quite precise, but they do not specify all possible events. They are more of a guide to interpretation. Good practice states that the repair of installations, systems and devices to which access is difficult and requires, for example, breaking down walls, is the responsibility of the landlord.
What is normal wear and tear of the premises?
The key word here is normal exploitation - this concept is not strictly defined in Polish law and it happens that its interpretation is different for landlords and tenants. The former try to charge the tenant for every small stain on the wall, a scratch on the floor, a loose hinge or a worn-out carpet, while the latter try to convince that holes in the walls, warped parquet, broken tiles in the bathroom, a broken mirror or a cracked induction hob are effect of normal use.
The devil is in the details. The landlord certainly cannot charge the tenant for repair costs resulting from the operation of the so-called force majeure. We mean, for example, flooding by a neighbor from above, a burst pipe in the apartment, or a drop in the voltage of the electricity network.
Damage to a rented apartment. How to avoid a dispute?
Destruction in a rented apartment is a problem that keeps both parties of the transaction awake at night. However, both sides can minimize the risk and avoid unnecessary conflicts. The interests of both parties are secured by a properly constructed lease agreement with a mandatory attachment in the form of a delivery and acceptance protocol. The contract should specify precisely what the tenant is allowed to do, what is not allowed, what interventions the tenant can make in the housing fabric, the costs of which repairs he is obliged to cover.
It is worth paying attention to issues in the contract that may be obvious to some tenants, but may not necessarily be so for the landlord - e.g. changing the purpose of individual rooms, planting in the garden, etc. Generally, all changes, renovations, technical repairs should be agreed with the landlord in writing - otherwise the tenant has no right to carry them out on his own.
The delivery and acceptance report of the apartment handed over to the tenant should also be very detailed. It is a document that confirms the actual condition of the apartment at the beginning of the lease and is a reference point for the valuation of any damage after its completion. It should specify, among other things: condition of technical installations, indications of measuring meters, list of all movable elements of the apartment, including their appearance and technical condition, condition of walls, ceilings, floors, windows. Everything should be supported by accurate photo documentation.
Rendin recommends concluding an occasional lease agreement, which protects the interests of the landlord to a greater extent than a regular lease agreement. First of all, it does not protect an unreliable tenant from eviction. The landlord can terminate the contract in a short time and does not have to worry about a replacement premises for the tenant, because the tenant, at the time of signing the contract, also presents a declaration of voluntary submission to bailiff enforcement and indicates the premises to which he can move in in the event of termination of the contract by the landlord . It is usually an effective scare against tenants who do not care about the property entrusted to them.
An occasional lease agreement rejects tenants who are dishonest by nature from the outset. This is a big advantage for landlords. Nobody assumes in advance that the tenant is dishonest, but we also know from experience that people's mentality and habits are different. That is why our agreements are very precise so as to leave as little room for interpretation as possible. We also pay a lot of attention to the verification of the tenant. Our verification system checks that the tenant is not in arrears with any debts owed to any companies or individuals. This tool keeps Rendin safe. We must be sure that we trust the potential tenant - we, not the property owner, take the risk related to their behavior
– says Piotr Kula from Rendin.
What to do if the tenant has damaged the apartment?
An ideal lease is when, after its completion, the tenant returns the premises in a condition that does not give grounds for claims. And this is the case in the majority of cases, but when we have the human factor on the one hand and the depreciable item on the other, it can be assumed that the condition of the item will deteriorate. What to do when we notice disturbing symptoms in the tenant's behavior that negatively affect the condition of the apartment?
In the event of a dispute, Rendin always advises the tenant to be officially informed about his remarks, about claims that have arisen from the improper use of the premises. Starting a dialogue to reach a compromise is essential. If the tenant does not want to cooperate and does not compensate for the damage, Rendin will take over the matter. The landlord will be compensated by Rendin and we will make a claim against the tenant
– says Piotr Kula, Rendin Polska Business Development Manager.
However, if we do not use Rendin's services in the rental process, in the event of a dispute with a tenant who evades payment for damage, the landlord is left to court. For this purpose, it is necessary to collect the strongest evidence, and the basis is a well-prepared handover protocol and evidence of communication with the tenant in the matter in question (e-mails, text messages, official letters).
How to evaluate damage to a rented apartment?
Evaluation of damage caused by a tenant is not easy. It is often accompanied by the emotions of the owner, which inflate the amount of the claim. Often, landlords do not take into account the depreciation of equipment used by the tenant, and they wear out. That is why it is worth having a documented value of individual items in the apartment and deduct depreciation from this value, assuming that each piece of equipment has its average useful life. When valuing potential repairs, such as replacing bathroom fittings, painting walls or replacing floors, you should be guided by current prices in stores and average market rates for individual renovation services.
When preparing to make a claim against a tenant, it is essential to write down all the claims and the extent of the necessary repairs. This gives a real picture of the amount of work that needs to be put into restoring the apartment to a usable condition. In case of problems with estimating the cost of repair, it is worth asking for help from an appraiser.
How to safely rent an apartment?
The rental market is constantly evolving and changing. In this dynamic reality, one thing remains constant - an honest, reliable tenant who cares for the rented apartment as if it were his own is worth gold. Meanwhile, as many as 7 out of 10 owners of apartments for rent had a problem with at least one tenant, according to the survey "Problems and prospects of landlords 2022" conducted by Rendin. The survey was conducted under the auspices of and in cooperation with the Resident Association. Arrears in rent, damage to the apartment, moving out without notification and payment for the last period - these are the problems that apartment owners face on a daily basis. On average, they lose almost 9 thousand zloty.
Rendin poll results Rendin makes renting an apartment easier and safer by offering customer verification, a precise occasional lease secured not by a deposit, but by guarantees far exceeding its usual amount. In the event of problems with tenants, Rendin provides legal and substantive support to apartment owners in solving them.
Author: Jakub Jakubowski - journalist, editor-in-chief of the Prestiż - Biznes i Inwestycje magazine