Mr Jarosław Kwiecień rented an apartment to a couple who, when they moved out, left behind damage costly to repair. Such a situation usually means lost money and nerves for the landlord, but not this time. After all, Mr Jaroslaw signed a rental agreement with Rendin and quickly got our help.

Renting a flat – a risky way to make a profit

A apartment for rent is a good source of profit. Unfortunately, sometimes it also means trouble and stress for the owner. Problems with tenants can give landlords a hard time, especially those who do not have professional help in fighting for their rights.

A rental agreement signed on Rendin is the best safeguard

Fortunately, Mr Jarosław, who was starting out in the rental business, knew that when he rented out his Warsaw flat to tenants, he should have the support of Rendin professionals who would stand by him in the event of problems.

That's why when he signed the agreement with Ms Milena before Christmas 2021, he did so on the Rendin platform. By doing so, he gained:

• a financial guarantee in case of non-payment,

• tenant verification and

• free assistance from our legal and rental experts.

Ms Milena moved into the flat in Warsaw's Nowodwory with her fiancé, Mr Rafał. He was initially supposed to be the main tenant but did not pass Rendin's verification due to his debt. Mr Jaroslaw, however, decided to give the young couple a chance by signing a contract with Ms Milena.

The landlord was initially happy with the tenants. They ended up paying their rent and fees, albeit untimely, and sometimes only after a call for payment. However, the money was going into his account.

Tenants – problems from the beginning and a nasty surprise at the end of the lease

However, problems soon emerged, signalled by neighbours and the building administration. The tenants were partying, which was associated with noise nuisance for the neighbours; unfortunately, there were also fights in the flat. It was also necessary to call the police.

In November 2022, less than 2 months before the end of the contract, Ms Milena and Mr Rafal stopped paying rent. Unfortunately, in such situations it is usually the tenant who takes the initiative, and the landlord can only react to his behaviour.

Fortunately, Mr Jaroslaw had Rendin's protection on his side, the value of which was many times the deposit amount, realistically the only security allowed by the flat lease. So he knew that if the tenants did not pay, Rendin would compensate for the financial loss.

The agreement was due to expire on 17 December, and the tenants should, of course, also pay for the use of the flat during that month. They also changed their telephone numbers at the same time. This convinced Mr Jarosław that his loss could be greater, as it was not known what condition the place would be in.

The change of numbers also prevented Rendin from contacting the tenants and trying to negotiate an amicable end to the matter, despite numerous and daily attempts by customer service.

The landlord finally succeeded in arranging for the premises to be handed over on the day the contract ended, 17 December. Even before this date, the tenants informed Rendin by email that they would not clean the flat before their move-out.

Landlord comes to take over the flat with witnesses – a good move

To avoid additional problems when taking over the flat from the tenants, the landlord decided to bring witnesses with him, as Rendin's contract allows. This makes it easier to assert claims, especially in situations where the tenant abandons the flat or does not want to sign the handover protocol.

According to clause 4.8 of the T&Cs, our client can call a witness (or witnesses) to go and together take over the premises. This lends credibility to the case and leaves an additional trace in the documents, which is important, for example, in the event of a dispute in court.

The tenants moved out on the last day of the tenancy agreement. However, during an inspection of the apartment in the presence of 2 witnesses, Mr Jarosław noticed that:

• he mattresses were stained with liquids;

• the corner (sofa) was stained with juice;

• there were holes in the ceiling;

• cutlery and plates were missing;

• the walls were dirty and full of stains from spilled liquids;

• one of the curtains was torn and could be thrown out.

Another problem that the landlord became aware of was the non-payment of utilities (electricity, gas, heating and water) for the last month. These payments, according to the agreement, were the tenants' responsibility. In the end, however, they paid almost the entire amount outstanding due to rent and fees.

In addition, the tenants received 2 sets of keys after signing the agreement and gave back 3. This meant that they made copies of the keys without the knowledge and consent of the landlord. In order to ensure that no one had additional keys to the property, Mr Jaroslaw had to replace the locks on the doors, exposing him to further expenses.

As if, by the way, it turned out that the tenants were also not paying the monthly Rendin fee, which in this case was only around PLN 60.

Renting securely – Rendin solves the problem with tenants for the landlord

The landlord, on Rendin's advice, prepared a valuation for repairing the damage to the property and sent it to the former tenants, together with a demand for payment of the calculated amount, giving them 30 days to do so.

Unfortunately, Ms Milena and Mr Rafal still refused to co-operate, claiming that they could have done the repairs themselves, and that the estimated cost was 10 times what they thought it would cost to renovate and clean.

Due to the damage and dirt in the flat, the losses in total were almost 7400 zloty. Mr Jarosław received the same amount of compensation from Rendin. Had he used the obsolete security - a deposit - he would have recovered only 2400 zloty of this amount.

Having paid the landlord an amount equal to the costs incurred by him in restoring the premises to their previous condition, Rendin's lawyers are now pursuing the recovery of this money from Mr Jarosław's unreliable tenants.

The table clearly shows that a simple deposit gives the landlord negligible protection. Meanwhile, Rendin's loss compensation guarantee is the certainty that in the event of debts and damage to the flat, the landlord will get his money back.