Many of you have probably experienced the frustration when the owner of the apartment you are renting is not communicating with you and you cannot get your deposit back. Luckily, the Czech law provides you with some legal instruments you can use to get your money back. In this article, I would like to briefly explain what you should do in order to terminate your rent agreement and how to proceed when you cannot get back your deposit.
Terminating Rent Agreement
It is important to understand that there is a huge distinction between the rent agreement concluded in a definite period or in an indefinite period.
Definite Period – You are entitled to notice the landlord about termination of the rent if the landlord is breaching your rights guaranteed by law, such as that the apartment is inhabitable.
Indefinite Period – You are entitled to terminate the rent anytime by written notice. However, you must keep the termination period of 3 months. The rent contract cannot stipulate anything which is less favourable for you as a tenant. If it does, then the clause is not legally binding.
It is important to fill the handover protocol while abandoning the apartment because otherwise, you could be surprised how much the landlord is deducting from your deposit because of some non-existent repairs. Without handover protocol, you have nothing to prove him otherwise.
How should a handover protocol look like? It is simple, use the parties’ information from the rent agreement, attach photos of current apartment state and put on the paper states of heating and electricity supply devices.
When Can You Get Your Deposit Back?
By law, the landlord has up to 30 days after the termination of the rent to transfer you the deposit back. He/she will do it after deducting any necessary repairs so always do have a signed handover protocol.
If the landlord stop communicating with you, simply send him written notice telling him or her that you still have not received the deposit back and that this is the last warning before filing an action in which case you will claim court and your legal representation’s expenses as well.
If the landlord still does not answer or return you the deposit you have two possibilities – file an action or sell you claim at a reduced price so you will be able to get your money faster because the average duration of a court case is between 1 and 2 years.
I will be happy to answer any question you might have and possibly help you with selling your claim or filing an action against the landlord. Feel free to contact me anytime. Looking forward to hearing from you. Daniel
