What is important to include in the contract
An expert who shares advice on real estate issues on the social network Instagram says that it is important to insure your home first before renting it out.
“This way you will avoid unpleasantness, for example, flooding your neighbors, in the event of other unforeseen failures or accidents,” warns L. Gaižauskaitė-Sodeikė.
Even before you rent out your home, it’s important to keep in mind certain “safeguards” that you can use.
“You can ask for references from previous landlords. Check the credit history of the potential tenant, check for solvency. Ask how many people will live in the apartment and, of course, check the documents. It is equally important to check the documents for the tenants – ask the landlord for an extract from the Registry Center of the apartment, so that you know for sure that it is the owner”, advises L. Gaižauskaitė-Sodeikė.
Next, you need to clearly know what is important to provide in the lease agreement.
According to the real estate broker, it is very important to determine the responsibilities and duties of both parties in the contract between the tenant and the landlord, and to take photos of the apartment before concluding it.
According to L. Gaižauskaitė-Sodeikė, it will help to feel safe that such a contract will define that if the tenant lives with animals and damage is caused, the tenant will be responsible.
123RF.com photo/Pets
“If the tenant will be living with family, they can nominate someone they can move out to if they need to move out of your property.” The lessee also assumes responsibility for damage caused by his fault and intends to compensate it. Be sure to make sure that the apartment must be left cleaned, because it very often happens that the tenant does not clean the apartment, even by his own efforts,” she points out.
After signing the contract with the tenant, you should also remember to sign the deed of transfer of the object, write down the meter readings.
“Show the tenant where all the meters (electricity, water, gas, etc.) of the rental property are located.” Do not forget to take a photofixation of the object. Also, stipulate a penalty for non-compliance in the contract. For example, if the tenant does not live up to the deadline, a monthly rent fine is applied, because tenants often abuse the lease term, plan to live for a shorter period of time and hide this information,” says L. Gaižauskaitė-Sodeikė.
The deposit is issued by the tenants
According to L. Gaižauskaitė-Sodeikė, the rental deposit is mandatory. It can be used to weed out tenants who might not be able to pay the rent later.
“The deposit is often a sore point for the tenant, but it is in this place that he shows his solvency. The deposit is required and it protects the landlord from untrustworthy tenants who may/may damage the property and move out or leave behind debts,” says the real estate broker.
According to her, the minimum deposit is 1.5 months. According to the specialist, the landlord decides what it could be maximum.
“But don’t forget that a larger deposit than three months’ worth can reduce the popularity of your property,” she warns.
123rf.com/Wallet
Sometimes a court is needed
What if, however, all the safeguards have failed and in certain circumstances, when the tenants do not comply with their commitment, they have to be evicted?
“If civilized ways, such as notifying the tenant about the eviction, do not work, in accordance with the points discussed in the lease agreement, you apply to the court, asking to evict the tenants from your premises,” advises L. Gaižauskaitė-Sodeikė.
And what to do if the tenants have minor children and do not comply with the obligations stipulated in the lease agreement?
“If it is not possible to agree on the eviction in good faith, the only way remains – the court. Tenants with children can be evicted, but it takes a little longer than tenants without children,” she adds.
