Is it worth renting out an apartment without a lease agreement?

Is it possible to rent out an apartment without a lease agreement or is the presence of this document a mandatory legal requirement? The vast majority of civil law transactions require written documentation in the form of an agreement, and certain legal relations are subject to state registration. In the material presented you can find out the legal requirements for renting apartments and what to do if a lease agreement has not been concluded.

Does the law prohibit renting out housing without documents?

Article 674 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation: a lease transaction must be accompanied by a written agreement. Objects of rental relations may also include residential real estate (houses, apartments or rooms). Thus, as a general rule, renting an apartment without a contract is not allowed.

However, you should consider the legal consequences that will result from renting out an apartment without completing the appropriate documents. The initiator of renting out housing for temporary use for a fee can be the owner of the apartment or a third-party citizen. What are the pros and cons of renting out an apartment with a signed contract?

Advantages and disadvantages

For an apartment owner, having an official two-sided document makes it possible to:

• record the quality condition of the premises in the apartment acceptance certificate at the time of concluding the lease agreement, which will make it possible to hold the tenant liable for damage caused;
• determine all terms of agreements with the tenant in writing: length of stay; amount of monthly payments; the right to early release of living space, etc.;
• collect rent arrears from the tenant in court.

Note! Income from renting out an apartment must be declared annually by the owner. The official basis for the emergence of an obligation to pay tax can only be an agreement.

Is it possible to avoid paying tax if the agreement was not in writing? The powers of the tax authorities allow for various options for verifying such facts, therefore, detected tax evasion may entail not only the obligation to pay tax, but also the imposition of penalties on the owner.

Thus, for the owner of the premises, the only significant advantage of the absence of a written agreement will be the opportunity to avoid obligations to pay tax if this fact is not revealed during inspection activities.

It would be best for the tenant to get the lease agreement in writing, as it will avoid the following negative consequences:

• lack of legal ways to protect the right of use if there is no agreement;
• the risk of a systematic unilateral increase in rent if tenants live without a contract;
• lack of legal right to preferential extension of contractual relations.

Renting apartments without a contract leaves tenants in limbo, when they are actually made completely dependent on the actions and decisions of the owner. Thus, renting an apartment without drawing up written documents has more negative consequences for both parties to the legal relationship.

Responsibility of the parties

How to officially and legally rent out your living space, and at the same time protect your own interests as much as possible? For the owner of the premises, renting out the premises is fraught with two potential significant negative consequences:

• possible deterioration in the quality of the object;
• problems with forced collection of rent payments.

The articles of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation devoted to rental relations indicate the general grounds for the tenant's liability for damage to property or violation of the deadline for paying rent.

However, their detailed regulation, in relation to the specific conditions of the parties, will be possible only in a bilateral agreement. If there is no such document, the tenant will have to be held accountable according to the general rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which will create additional problems.

The liability of the owner of the object may also be provided for by the terms of the contract or legal norms. In particular, in Art. 612 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulates the tenant’s right to demand a reduction in fees for the use of the premises or termination of the relationship if, after the transfer of the apartment for rent, significant deficiencies in the apartment were identified.

Obviously, the rights of tenants without a contract in this case will be significantly limited, since it is possible to determine the condition of the housing upon its transfer only by drawing up a document.

The consequences of such a situation may be the impossibility of using the apartment for living, and if there is no agreement, then there are no grounds to demand elimination of violations.

Read also >> Here you can download standard rental agreements for housing .

What rights does a tenant have?

When registering a rental relationship, the tenant undertakes to make payments on time and ensure the safety of the transferred property. At the same time, he has rights that will allow him to maintain his own interests:

• use the apartment for the entire duration of the contract;
• move your family members into the premises;
• with the prior consent of the owner, move in other persons.

Depending on the specific terms of the lease agreement, these rights may be significantly limited.

Is it possible to rent out a municipal apartment and living space purchased with a mortgage without notifying the landlord and the bank? In this case, it is not necessary to formalize the agreement in writing, since without the consent of the proper owner or mortgagee (bank), execution of documents will be impossible.

True, in such a situation, the very fact of renting out housing will contradict the terms of the social rent or mortgage agreement.

Is it possible to rent out living space to foreign citizens, and what rights do such persons have? The legislation does not contain restrictions on the subject composition of the tenant; residents of foreign countries can enter into an agreement on a general basis.

What is the landlord's risk?

How can an owner rent out an apartment without risk? Possible risks for the landlord may be associated with the dishonest attitude of the tenants, and negative consequences can be reduced if the lease agreement is drawn up according to all the rules.

How to rent out an apartment correctly when an unusual situation arises - renting a separate share of a room or room in a communal apartment?

Risks when renting out an apartment without concluding a contract will arise in any case, therefore, even at the stage of making a decision and searching for tenants, you should find out in advance how to quickly and correctly rent out an apartment yourself.

Concluding an agreement for a period of more than one year will require registration of the transaction with the Rosreestr authorities; it is better to conclude these types of agreements with the help of an experienced lawyer. He will not only advise on how to properly rent out an apartment, but also draw up the necessary documents, and also represent the interests of the landlord in the Rosreestr authorities.

How to rent out a room in a communal apartment or a share in an apartment? If a room in a communal apartment is properly registered as a property, approval from the other owners is not required. A share in an apartment is rented out according to different rules - the provision of a part of the apartment for use will require the consent of the other homeowners.

Renting part of an apartment without a contract is fraught with consequences for both parties, since the owners of the remaining shares may at any time demand to vacate the illegally occupied premises. In this case, the tenant also has no responsibility, since the owner of the share violated the law by renting out part of the apartment without the consent of the other shareholders.

How to rent out an apartment daily? In this case, drawing up daily contracts may not be practical, but tenants will need to be issued a document confirming payment of fees for temporary use of the premises.

In addition, the absence of an agreement will create problems in holding the tenant liable for damage to the object or property.