When the landlord, Andrzej, signed the agreement with his new tenant, he did not yet know how much trouble she would cause. After half a year, his loss due to rent non-payment and property damage amounted to over PLN 21 000! Fortunately, he had Rendin protection and got his money back.

The landlord must know how to safely rent out an apartment

People who take their first steps in the rental world often think that good intentions are enough for a successful relationship with the tenant. They usually have to learn from their mistakes when they come across dishonest or unreliable people. Landlord Andrzej, however, wanted to shut the stable door before the horse has bolted. He signed a contract on the Rendin platform and gained the best rental protection in Poland:

• financial guarantee for an amount up to 10 times higher than the rent;

• tenant candidate verification in the debtors database;

• professional legal advice free of charge throughout the duration of the agreement.

The worst tenant in Poland?

Having our financial guarantee, access to free legal advice and assistance in retrieving the apartment turned out to be a hit in this case. Andrzej's tenant did almost everything that every owner of a flat for rent is afraid of:

• stopped paying rent;

• caused excessive damage to the premises;

• did not want to move out after the termination of the contract and

• disturbed the peace of the neighbors.

Did Monika deserve the title of the worst tenant in Poland? If there were such competitions, she would certainly be a finalist in them. Below you will read how a simple rental turned into a nightmare for the landlord and how Rendin helped the landlord avoid a gigantic financial loss.

The easy start turned out to be the calm before the storm

Andrzej, the owner of an apartment in Warsaw, was moving to another city in mid-2021 and decided to rent an abandoned apartment to increase his income. He did not know exactly how to rent an apartment to ensure his safety, but he came across Rendin's offer, which he quickly took advantage of.

He signed a lease with Monika, a young woman who was looking for an apartment in the capital after moving out with her partner, with whom she ended her relationship a little earlier. The lease started in August, and two months later the first delays in rent payments took place, and then the rent simply stopped flowing into the account.

Rendin swiftly helps the landlord

Andrzej quickly contacted Rendin and received legal assistance and advice on how to deal with such a situation. He waited the period required by law and then terminated his tenant's lease, giving her almost a month and a half to move out and empty the flat. However, termination of the contract through the fault of the tenant did not mean that the owner of the apartment regained it.

Monika simply refused to leave the apartment she was already occupying illegally. When the landlord and Rendin's employees managed to reach her (and she rarely answered calls), she invented all sorts of reasons why she needed a little more time to move out.

In the end, both parties managed to arrange a face-to-face meeting, for which the landlord had to specially come to Warsaw from another city. While on the road, Andrzej was afraid that the tenant would not let him into the apartment, but this did not happen.

When he went inside, however, he saw that his apartment had turned into a dirty, smelly warehouse, full of old boxes with unknown contents. Monika told him that she wanted to move out as soon as possible, but she had to find a place for herself and her belongings.

While in his old block of flats, the landlord also took the opportunity to talk to his former neighbors. He learned that they had previously complained about noise coming from the rented flat and smoking on the balcony and stairwell. Neighbors also talked about empty syringes that they sometimes saw in the vicinity of Andrzej's apartment.

The landlord's decision: time to sue for eviction

The landlord lost patience and decided to take the matter to court to obtain an eviction order. The legal department of Rendin quickly prepared a set of necessary documents and the case was launched. Our employees were still trying to talk to Monika.

They explained to the tenant during telephone conversations that she should move out as soon as possible, empty the apartment and clean it. Despite the fact that Andrzej terminated the lease, each month of non-contractual use of the apartment increased Monika's debt to the landlord.

The breakthrough came when one of the neighbors called the owner of the apartment, informing him that the door to his apartment had been open for several days. Andrzej did not wait a moment. He got into the car and drove to Warsaw, wanting to regain the apartment abandoned by the tenant as soon as possible.

A devastated apartment and expensive renovation

Although Andrzej's premises did not look good during the previous visit, now the view was appalling. The interior was devastated. Water leaked from a torn pipe from the radiator in the kitchen, which destroyed not only the floor in the whole apartment, but also part of the furniture.

Due to the dampness, the walls were also suitable only for a major renovation, and even the landlord knew that getting the apartment in order would cost by very expensive.

The tenant pretends not to know anything

Andrzej and the Rendin employees tried to contact the former tenant. When she finally answered the call and heard about the damage and the estimated cost of repairing it, she changed her story. Now she claimed that she had sublet the flat to another person and it was her boxes and other belongings that the landlord had previously seen in the premises. She also did not know that the apartment was abandoned, flooded and vandalized.

Monika also did care about the fact that, according to the agreement, she had no right to sublet the apartment. She also couldn't give the name of the person who had supposedly been living there.

Rendin keeps his word and reimburses the landlord

Andrzej was well aware that the renovation cost of his apartment would exceed his financial capabilities. However, when he saw the cost estimate prepared by the renovation team, he was devastated.

When all documents were finally sent to Rendin, our legal department, after analyzing this exceptional situation, decided to pay the landlord the full amount. It consisted of:

• rents unpaid by the tenant,

• the cost of repairing walls and floors,

• the cost of new furniture, including all kitchen furniture, as well as parts for the bedroom and living room.

The total amount of losses for which Rendin compensated the landlord exceeded PLN 21 000. See the table below and find out how much he would have lost if he had only taken a typical, monthly deposit.

Andrzej's troubles have ended. Admittedly, an unlucky adventure with perhaps the worst tenant in Poland cost him a lot of nerves, but thanks to Rendin's protection, at least he didn't lose money. The apartment, after renovation, was rented again, of course by Rendin.

The payment of such a large compensation by our company was of course not tantamount to closing the case. Before transferring the compensation to the lessor's account, Rendin signed an assignment of receivables with him, under which Monika became a debtor to our company.

Despite numerous attempts by Rendin's employees, we have not been able to contact the former tenant. She probably doesn't answer the phone and doesn't answer e-mails because she knows how much debt she has to pay off.

Unfortunately, this is not the best way to get out of a difficult financial situation. At Rendin, we understand that repayment of debts is often a serious problem and we often help our creditors by agreeing, for example, to spread the debt into installments.

In this situation, however, our legal department had to apply to the court for an order for payment. When it becomes final and if Monika is still not interested in repaying the debt, Rendin will ask the bailiff to collect the debt to the last penny.

Do you want to rent your apartment and earn money on rent?

Shut the stable door before the horse has bolted, just like Andrzej did. Register on Rendin, where you will find:

the best apartment rental agreement (ordinary rental, institutional and occasional rental);

guarantee of protection against non-payment and damage to the premises for an amount up to 10 times higher than your rent;

verification of the financial credibility of each tenant candidate in the debtors database;

free legal advice from our real estate and rental specialists throughout the duration of your contract.

You will not pay anything for the Rendin protection, as the costs are borne by the tenant and it is only 2.5% of the rent per month (e.g. PLN 50 per month for a rent of PLN 2,000).

Rent your premises with Rendin, get the best protection of the rental agreement in Poland and secure your real estate profits.