Most foreigners who temporarily live in Lithuania do so in rental apartments. To be a tenant is easier than to be a lessor. However, apartment rent is rather unpopular among Lithuanians themselves and therefore less regulated by state than in many Western countries. Here are the legal issues you need to know when renting an apartment in Lithuania.
How to ensure you are not evicted?
An apartment rent contract must be written when it has a fixed term (e.g. „Rent for 1 year“) or you rent an apartment from a company. Otherwise, it may be unwritten. If there is no fixed term it means that the lessor may cancel the agreement any time by informing the tenant 6 months in advance.
It is common that the lessors do not want to sign any written agreement as they avoid taxes. Tenants in such apartments risk being evicted even if it was agreed otherwise. It may happen that the lessor will deny altogether that he/she rented an apartment. Of course, such scams are rare, but a written contract largely prevents them. Therefore signing a contract is good even when it is not necessary (but it may mean a slightly more expensive rent).
However, even if the apartment rent contract is signed it may be so that the tenant will be evicted. This can happen if the lessor will transfer (sell or gift) the apartment to somebody else. The new owner may then evict the tenant and tenant‘s rights would be limited to demanding compensation from the previous owner if the contract was breached.
However, if the apartment rent contract is registered in the Real Estate Registry of Lithuania then it will be impossible for the new owner to evict the tenant so easily. The contract registration costs money however and a tenant will likely have to pay for it.
Eviction is also possible when the tenant breaches the contract and/or harms the apartment.
What should be written in an apartment rent contract?
Lithuanian apartment rent contract is required by law to have at least the following things mentioned: address, the number of rooms, the rights to shared rooms, rental price and terms to pay it, additional price to be paid for utilities (usually dependent on true usage).
In Lithuania many apartment buildings have their own Community established and the articles of incorporation of such Community should be given to a tenant (they will be Lithuanian-only however).
Some clauses are not required to be specified in the contract but if they are not specified then clauses described in law will hold. For example, if the contract does not specify when to pay for apartment rent the tenant has to pay until the 20th day of every month.
Illegal clauses in apartment rent contract
It is assumed that tenant is „the weaker part“ of the contract and the following clauses are banned:
a)Tenant‘s responsibility without guilt (e.g. that the tenant has to compensate damage if the apartment will burn in a fire started by neighbors) or a responsibility larger than true damage (e.g. „ the tenant clogs the toilet he would not only have to unclog it but also pay a fine“).
b)Lessor‘s right to unilaterally change the terms of the contract (e.g. „the lessor has a right to raise the rental price at any time“) or a lessor‘s right to unilaterally decide that the apartment is liveable (e.g. after a fire).
c)Altering tenant‘s rights based on his family size if the apartment is large enough (e.g. „the contract ends in case the tenant has another child“).
d)Removing tenant‘s ability to choose where to buy things/services (e.g. „tenant must use only IKEA furniture“).
e)Requiring the tenant to pay for entire rent after being late once.
Moreover, while it is permitted to rent rooms of the same apartment separately it is not permitted to rent a room that must be passed to reach another tenant‘s room or to rent a non-residential room (WC, kitchen) separately.
Responsibility
The tenant (and his/her family members) are responsible for the damage they do (or the people they let inside do) but are not responsible for the damages from elsewhere (e.g. done by neighbors).
Who could live in a rented apartment?
The tenant may invite other temporary residents to the rental flat only when the lessor agrees.
The leased apartment may be subleased only with a permission as well.
When the rental contract ends all the people who lived there loses their right to do that.
When the contract ends
If the ending date of the contract has been agreed upon the contract ends up on that date if either tenant or lessor wishes so. If nobody wishes that the contract continues to be in power the same way as if it would be signed without specifying the term.
The rental conditions may be changed by lessor when the term ends. However, the new conditions must be first offered to the existing tenant and only if he/she refuses could they be offered to someone else.
If the contract end term has not been specified the contract ends after the lessor writes a termination letter to the tenant. However, this letter must be written not earlier than 6 months before the termination date.
The tenant is always able to cancel the rental agreement by informing the lessor 1 months in advance (regardless of whether the ending term has been specified). He/she may also retract the termination letter if he/she changes his/her mind however if the lessor would have already agreed to rent the apartment to someone else such retraction would not work.
It is harder for the lessor to cancel the apartment rent contract. He/she may only do so if the tenant fails to pay the rental fee for 3 months, fails to pay for utilities, damages the apartment or misuses it (e.g. uses it for business).
The tenant must return the apartment as he received it.
If he made something worse (e.g. damaged the walls) then the tenant must repair or compensate the damage.
If the tenant improved the apartment he could take back the improvements after the apartment rent contract ends if these improvements can be taken away. Otherwise, the improvements become a property of lessor and only if the lessor agreed to make such improvements he/she would be obliged to compensate the tenant. For example, the tenant may easily remove a new lamp he bought (and place back the old lessor‘s lamp) but he may not be able to get any compensation for the wall paint.
Hello, do you know if it’s légal to put in the contract , interest fees for late in the payment for the month rent?
And if Yes, in which condition we can apply it?
Thank you
Definitely, this is possible and legal. It can be applied in case the lesee fails to pay the rent on time (from the very next day of such lateness).
Hi, can I find rent apartment one or two room EUR 100 month include all bills in Vilnius or in Kaunas for long time,thanks.
Hey, can you move into an apartment at 15 with another person?
There is no law forbidding it.
That said, if you imply, for example, move in as a couple, and the partner would be older, there are laws forbidding sex with 15 years olds.
Hi, what are rights and responsibilities for subletting the full apartment? What if it says nothing about subletting in the contract or if theres no contract about the rent and you are renting from landlord on verbal agreement? Thank you
Hi, is it possible for a tenant that wants to break the contract to pay for the last 2 months he will be in the apartment, by using the deposit? The lessor would use the deposit and the tenant would just pay for the bills until the end, in this case.
It should be possible. However, it also depends on the contract.
Is it possible for tenant to break the contract and use the deposit for repairs of damages instead of actually have to repair themselves?
If you mean damages to the apartment – they can be usually compensated either by a repair work or by money that could pay for such a repair work. If the damages cost more to repair than the deposit, however, then you’d have to pay additionally so that the total sum of the money you paid in addition to the regular rental and other fees would cover the cost of damage repairs (including the cost of hiring a person to do those repairs, if you won’t do them yourself).
This is assuming we speak of a typical apartment rent contract. There may be many different rental contracts, and the exact outcome depends on the contract.
Hi, if my flatmate brings friends over, is it possible for me, a legal tenant, to call the police and ask them to leave as it’s a small flat. Thanks in advance.
It may be possible, depending on the situation: what are these brought-in friends doing there.
Hello Augustinas
What is agreement for living space in Lithuania, a requirement by migration department to register EU and non EU nationals as Lithuanian residents.
Is it a separate document to a rental agreement? What a tenant has to do and moreover what does an owner need to do. Many thanks Indre
The owner has to go to the Department and give his/her consent that a person who seeks a Lithuanian residence permit would declare his site of living at the apartment in question. You should also bring the rental agreement just in case, but it is not enough if there is no possibility to declare the person’s site of living at the apartment, and this declaration needs a separate consent of the owner.
Thank you Augustinas, you are correct. And, I found out it can be done in three ways: –
1. The owner can go to the migration department and sign a form there.
2. Owner can go to the notary and sign the declaration of living space form and give original copy to the tenant which along with the original rent agreement needs submission at migration centre.
3. If the property is registered at the Lithuanian Register Centre than take the original rent agreement to the migration centre for submission.
Most of the owners chose the first option unless they have their property registered than the third option.
Imp. You only need the above if you are applying for a temporary or permanent residence permit in Lithuania.
Hello Augustinas, I’m considering renting a property but the owners are only willing to register my own residency there (for residence permit), but not that of my small children who will live with me (they are asking me to register them as if they lived with family members elsewhere). I’m not willing to do this but I don’t understand their “angle” for this (they say safety reasons). Any idea why they might be asking this? What advantage would they obtain?
In Lithuanian law, it is very difficult to evict families with children, even if they don’t pay the rent, for example (the process is more difficult than for families without children). So I think this is the reason.
HI HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE FOR THE LEASE AGREEMENT TO BE READY
It will be ready in 5 days after you hire us.
is it legal to rent an apartment in lithuania, with a contract without having a residence permit or visa to lithuania?
It is legal. However, you must be in Lithuania legally: that is, in order to be in Lithuania without a visa, you need to have a citizenship of a country whose citizens are allowed to be in Lithuania without a visa. And you must not stay in Lithuania (in a rental apartment or not) longer than you are allowed to stay without a visa.
Hi, where can I find a list of countries from which the tenant is required to register in the apartment? As far as I understood, the EU citizents are exempt from this obligation. However, what concerns tenants from Israel, for instance, remains unclear.
European Union citizens are exempt because there is so-called free movement of people within the EU, so EU citizens can move into Lithuania without a Lithuanian residence permit. Whoever needs a residence permit in Lithuania (and this includes citizens of Israel) needs to register in an apartment in Lithuania in order to get such a permit.
So does that mean the original rental agreement in Lithuanian language would not be enough? Because what my workplace’s HR is telling me that EITHER the agreement EITHER notary EITHER the place of residence of declaration form.
Hi there, I’m sure this has been covered somehwere but I’m hoping for some clarification. What are the responsibilities of the landlord concerning maintenance e.g. lift services, gardening etc..? Thanks for you time.
The landlord is responsible for the general maintenance of the building (e.g. floor, roof), but not maintenance such as cleaning, unless otherwise specified.
If you rent a house with a garden, then you are responsible for the gardening.
If you rent an apartment in an apartment block, in that case most of the responsibilities for the building itself will actually fall not on the landlord (who will likely just have a single apartment himself) but rather the apartment house community (an organization established just for that and allowed to tax those who own the apartments for its services). In case the apartments are rented out, typically, it is the tenants who pay such taxes unless agreed otherwise.
If you are living as a in one apartment, but at another with a young family,can the is it possible to access social benefits. Or must you be registered to the address you live at?
Hi, I have a question: is it legal for the lessor to decide not to return the whole deposit if the tenant leaves before a certain amount of time (let’s say one year)?
Hello I have rented an apartment for almost a month now and the dishwasher did not work from the beginning. The dishwasher is now away and being repaired and is suppose to be reinstalled in a week from now. I have signed a 1 year lease and this is a brand new unit along with brand new appliances. Is there any obligation from the lessor? The dishwasher is listed in the lease.
TIA
If it is listed in the lease, it should work indeed. You are responsible if it would be broken because of your damage, however, if it was broken initially, then it is lessor’s responsibility.
Hello, this is the best help I could get. I was wondering if you could tell from which law I should base my answer to my landlord : she didn’t give me a new agreement a few months ago, so I will go with what you said regarding when to say goodbye, but I want to use the name of the law (article Nth, clause humptheenth)
Thanks in advance for this great piece of explanation 🙂
If you mean the right of a tenant to terminate a rental contract, it is Civil Code article 6.609 clause 1. Translation: “A tenant has a right to terminate the rental contract [of a residential home] by informing the lessor 1 month in advance. In case he/she fails to inform the lessor, the lessor is entitled to compensation of any damages incurred [because of this]”.
I’m not sure where to find more info on this. What are the laws that govern construction on the rental unit during our stay or misinformation about the start of it? Our landlord misinformed us that construction on our unit’s roof will start near the end of the contract. It has started 3 months early without our prior knowledge. We were also not aware of the construction happening beside our unit that’s very intrusive to our life: loud noise, cold, paint chips from our walls falling. What can we as tenants do about this?
There are various possibilities:
*If it is impossible to live in your premises, the owner may need to provide new premises or compensate for this. However, if the repairs are happening in the daytime for example, this is unlikely.
*If the premises are now of lower quality due to that and you would not have rented them for this price had you know it, you may tell the landlord this and demand a reduction of price. Should he refuse, you may go to court. Yet again though, it depends on court and exact nuisances whether you’d succeed.
*The easiest is just to terminate the contract and find a new apartment, or do so after the landlord refuses to lower the price.
Also, if you live in an apartment block and it is not the landlord himself that does the repairs, it may be so that he is not responsible – may he was not notified himself.
In general, unlike in the West, tenant rights are less protected in Lithuania in practice, mostly because 92%+ of Lithuanians own their apartments and rental is generally just a short term solution (i.e. there is almost no one in Lithuania who would plan to live in a rental apartment for a long time, except for the students maybe but they still live just a few years and may also change apartments every year). The typical solution of such problems in Lithuania is not to go to the court but rather to demand a reduction in price and, should the owner disagree, simply terminate the rent agreement (the tenant can terminate anytime notifying 1 month in advance, although under some circumstances immediate termination may also be possible, e.g. if it is impossible to live there). Simply, the court cases are too much of a hassle, there is usually too little money involved, and the precedents are too unclear, while somebody who loses the case has to compensate attorney fees for the opponent.
Hi, I have a question, is it a common practice in Lithuania to charge an extra month rent as penalty( to be paid within 10 days of given the regular 2 month notice of termination). As a tenant it sound as a penalty for terminating the contract ahead of the expiration date, inspite of the notice.
It is a common practice, although its legality may be disputed. In general, however, many rental agreements in Lithuania are either unsigned or rather abstract contracts are signed. The way it is usually done is simply that a tenant pays “up front” and loses what he paid in case of termination (in theory, he may dispute that in court, but it is understandable that few would go to court for such sums of money). Tenant rights are usually not important in Lithuania even to the tenants themselves, as they often rent for some specific purpose temporarily (e.g. while studying and only for 9 months), whereas those who live for a longer time typically buy an apartment. So, unlike in some Western societies, the lessor-tenant relationship is often seen in Lithuania by society as a purely commercial one, even if an apartment is rented. That said, the law provides additional benefits for tenants who rent apartments over tenants who rent commercial space, including easier termination of the rental contract, etc.
Hello, I wanted to ask if there is a special “crisis” law due to the corona pandemic to extend rental agreements. So if your rental contract is expiring (not terminated), is the lessor obligated to extend your contract even though they already have a contract with a new tenant for that apartment?
Or is there no such protection for tenants in this special crisis?
Thank you in advance!
No, there are no such obligations in general. You are permitted to rent a new apartment, however – this is not forbidden during the coronavirus “national quarantine”.
Hello Augustinas,
Please, help me understand.
If parquet floor gets moist damage (swelling) from regular mopping due to large shells between the wood tiles (from improper parquet installation), is it considered as “normal wear and tear” or is it “damage caused by improper care”? Can the lessor withhold the deposit for this? Who is liable in such situation?
Kindly w. best regards
Each situation is unique and so it is impossible to say exactly, as there is no law that lists every situation. Only a court of law has a final say if the dispute reaches a court. There are typically few precedents as Lithuania is a much smaller country than the USA or the UK and also the Civil Code is relatively new (operating since the year 2000), which means that pre-2000 typically precedent no longer matter as the law has changed. And there is a limited set of precedents in a country of 3 million over a period of ~20 years.
So, if the owner withholds the deposit, you would need to go to court and the court may order him to give the deposit back should the court decide this was actually a normal wear-and-tear.
Typically, though, as deposits are often relatively small and the court procedure takes time (or money, should one hire an attorney), it is also usual that people do not pursue this, and that is also why some lessors may take the deposit even when they shouldn’t or they are likely (but not 100% certain) to lose at the court. That said, if you hire an attorney and win in court, the lessor will have to pay your legal expenses as well (as long as they are reasonable).
Thank you, Augustinas
Have a nice holiday!
Hello Augustinas,
I just moved to Vilnius now 3 months and i have a year rental contract and i find a better flat and im thinkink to change my flat , i read in the entire contract and nowhere its written that if i cancel the contract before the one year i loose my deposit , so i want to know will i get back my deposit if i decide to inform my landlord that im leaving after 3 months ?
Thanks
Typically you have a right to terminate such agreement by informing one month in advance, or by moving out. However, in practice, it may be difficult to get the deposit back – even if there are no such conditions in the contract (or if such conditions are not legal), the lessor typically refuses to return the deposit. A court of law is a possible way then but to get e.g. 300 euros back few want to go through the hassle (instead, they may e.g. simply not pay for the final month, that way somewhat diminishing the lost deposit). We offer attorney services for those who do, though.
Hey Augustinas,
We rented an apartment for a year and decided to not renew our lease. Our lease was up on June 1st and we moved out two weeks early and handed over the keys. The landlord inspected the apartment while we were there and said everything looked good and our utilities and cleaning fee would be deducted from the deposit.
Over two weeks later she is claiming small frivolous damages and doing the normal greedy londlord deposit dance. Here’s my question.
Can a landlord claim damages after the mutual inspection of a rental property?
She shouldn’t do it if she agreed everything was good, unless there would be some “hidden damages” that could not be seen (e.g. the interior of the pipes would be damaged on purpose by the tenant), which is most likely not the case.
That said, the problem is often that mutual inspection is not recorded anywhere. It should be recorded by signing a transfer deed where the sides agree that everything is ok in the apartment – then, the tenant has a strong case. However, if nothing is signed or at least recorded (e.g. on video) anyhow, then it is easy for the landlord to claim that she, in fact, never agreed that everything was good during the mutual inspection, or that she simply said the room was clean (but not necessarily undamaged), etc. Should a dispute arise, that would be what she would claim most likely with you being unable to prove that she actually said “all is good” (unless you signed / recorded something) and then it would be back to proving if you did the damages or not.
I.e. if there are no proofs for mutual inspection results, eventually it does not matter, unless the landlord is honest and agrees that she actually said “all is good”, which is not likely if a dispute exists in the fist case.
I understand that in Lithuania the tenant can terminate the agreement anytime notifying 1 month in advance. In the contract that we are receiving as a proposal it is written 2 months.
“Either Party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement with written notice to the other Party given 2 (two) months before such termination date. The Party terminating this Agreement shall pay to the other Party a fine equal to 2 (two) months Rent. Such Rent shall be payable within 10 (ten) days as of the date of the termination notice sent by the terminating Party to the other Party”
Is this legal?
Thanks
David, I know you left this comment two years ago, but we are facing the exact same situation right now. Did you ever get an answer?
We also have the exact clause? Has anyone received an answer? Thanks
Hey Augustinas,
We moved out of our apartment and now the landlord doesn‘t pay back our 2 month rent deposit. He doesn‘t reply to Whatsapp/Mails anymore.
Because of the COVID pandemic we are not in Lithuania, so we can‘t visit him personally.
Any help would be appreciated.
Philip
The best way is to go to court if you are entitled to get the deposit back (e.g. there was no damage to the apartment). We will send you an offer.
Do you guys a have apartment rent agreement template in English? I would be grateful if you could share.
No, we don’t have rent agreement templates in English. We tend to avoid using complete templates as the situations are often different.
Hello Augustinas,
My two flatmates and me moved out of our old apartment and we are waiting for our deposit back. Because of miscalculations we should also get back an amount of utility costs and the agent from Oberhaus who is the one in contact with the landlord since the landlord is not Lithuanian and also doesn’t live in Lithuania, told us 3 weeks ago that we would receive it back in about a week. We still have not received either the money or a receipt of the calcutlations.
Are there any measures that I could take in this case?
You may start a case at the court of law, with which we can help. Usually in the cases where the landlord or the representative is wrong but, for example, simply tries to perform his/her duties later, the mere fact of the potential court case is enough to persuade them to pay.
In fact, sometimes it is enough to just write them a letter from the attorney (which we can also do) and they comply.
Hi Augustinas,
I am planning to leave my flat earlier than the end of the contract and I tried to tell my landlord to find an agreement but he don’t agree and apparently, according to him, there is no way for me to leave and get my deposit back no matter how much in advance I give him the notice.
I have read in the previous comment that I could leave the flat with one month notice, but in that case he claim he don’t have to give me back the deposit.
Is that possible?
That is to be decided by a court. It may also depend on the rental contract. However, typically, the landlord has to give the unused part of the deposit back unless something is damaged, in this case, the deposit is used for compensation. That said, given that deposit is typically comparatively small, and going to a court is a hassle (as well as risk in money if one would hire an attorney), and the attitude of the judge may influence the final decision (so there is no such thing as 100% chance of victory usually), quite often landlords are reluctant to give the money they already have back as they expect that no court procedure would take place.
That is not my case unfortunately since my deposit is pretty substantial and discussing with a landlord is like talking with a wall. If I will need further will get in touch by email. Thanks for now!
Hello Augustinas
Great thread here, lots of valuable information!
I have one question – if the landlord receives the rent in cash and doesn’t allow me to register with this place here in lithuania neither. Now I want to move out but she doesnt want to give back my deposit, refused to give detailed breakdown of the monthly costs, uses a broker who doesn’t seem to have an online presence by phone number research etc. You think I can just not pay for the last month or the risk for a courtcase could be substantial? What do you think?
Thanks,
Matt
If she has no right to keep your deposit but does so, then she would not be able to win a court case against you if you don’t pay for the final month and ask to use deposit for that.
If she would have a right to keep it (e.g. due to damages) then she may sue you. If, however, the issues and sums are comparatively small then it is likely she won’t even in this case.
Hello Augustinas,
there has been some discussions about the house between landlord and me. So the relation took a very bad turn in the last few weeks, no possibility to recover the communication. I asked her if i will leave before end of contract, to give me back my deposit. and she refused: there is a clause in the contract saying if I will leave before end of contract, I will lose the deposit.
The deposit is some money but not too much high, so I am going to literally abandon the apartment without telling her, leaving it as it is, not paying last month´s bills and no cleaning. Also, I won´t see her so no give back the keys.
I highly doubt the contract has been registered and she is paying taxes on this. Plus, few weeks ago she decided to close the open balcony with windows, and I highly doubt she gave notice to the town hall office. So, in my understanding, it is an illegal contract and some illegal house works has been made while i was leaving there.
I understood this is a problematic landlord and she may get very angry to me and try to create some problem after this. That´s why, the day i will leave the apartment, I am going to take a video of the house, that is more or less in order, with no damages. After I will block any possible contact by phone/chat.
My question: she has the deposit, could she make any legal trouble to me after leaving this way?
In theory – yes. In fact, in Lithuania anybody may sue anyone – however, it is up to a judge who will win in court (and yet having to go to court alone is enough of a hassle to many).
In practice, I doubt it. The hassle and risk of the court goes both ways and unless she is a lawyer herself probably she wouldn’t take up on it, given a very uncertain probability of success if you do everything right.
It would be useful for you to leave the key somewhere where she could find, to send a message describing such a place to find the key, and describing your legal right to leave so your position would seem legally stronger. We could write such a text for a fee if needed. If you know the landlord’s address, even better would be to send such a message and the key there by post. That would make your position stronger (and would perhaps make her drop any ideas about the court if she would have them).
Hi,
Please there has been some issues with the landlady, I pay every month for my rent and bills that always change drastically, I have asked severally for a receipt and a calculation of bills, but she pretends not to understand (she doesn’t speak English) and have refused to provide such documents.
I also tried contacting the agency but they also replied saying that yes I am too receive a receipt but the landlady have refused to understand.
please how can I go about this issue?
I need my receipts as proof.
Maybe somebody could translate for you?
She should indeed provide the information. Bills are not something a landlord is allowed to make a profit on. That said, scams sometimes do happen – that is, landlords agree on a rather low rent only to scam through inflated bills. However, in theory, there may be other explanations: for example, sometimes genuine one-off fees may be added to the bills (e.g. snow cleaning from the roof after heavy snows or such). Also, please note that heating bills in Lithuania may indeed vary greatly, depending on the weather (the colder it is – the more it costs). It is only possible to know after seeing the genuine bills.
Hello, I am in need of some advice.
I have signed a year contract with the current flat I’m staying at, however there are some serious noise issues with my neighbours which permit me from sleeping and are affecting my health. I told my landlord about it, and she told me to call the police – which I did twice, only to have my neighbour come down and aggressively told me it’s not his problem, and for me to “adapt and to take sleep medicine, since it’s his flat, so he can do whatever he wants.”
As the noise issues don’t seem to be getting better, I decided to move out and to terminate my contract, however my landlord says she will be keeping one month’s deposit as a penalty and that we have to give one month’s notice in advance. However, I didn’t see on our contract that we are to give a month’s notice period in advance, only one regarding the deposit penalty… I am willing to pay that, but I really want to leave ASAP without living here another month.
I am also aware that my landlord hasn’t legally registered this flat and isn’t paying taxes, so I don’t know if that gives me any leverage? Can I legally tell her that I want to move out now without the month’s notice?
What the landlord says is not based on the contract but rather on the law.
According to the Civil Code of Lithuania:
Article 6.609
1.The tenant of the living space is allowed to terminate the rental agreement after notifying the landlord 1 month in advance. If the tenant does not follow this requirement, he must cover the landlord’s damages because of that.
(…)
3.If the tenant and his family members leave to live elsewhere, the rental agreement is considered terminated from that date.
In theory, you would need to cover only the damages – i.e. if he would rent immediately to another person, there would be no damages (however, if you leave quickly, it is unlikely he would quickly rent again, unless you would find another tenant for him yourself who would be willing to rent for the same price).
If the landlord is not paying taxes, the only additional possibility it gives you is to say that you can tell the institutions about him not paying the taxes. This is, however, clearly not a part of the law but more a form of blackmail.
Hello, I was looking for a place before I arrived in Lithuania, and the landlord of the place I found agreed that we would sign the contract on my arrival to the apartment.
but when I arrived to the apartment, it was not as it was promised to me. But because I was now desperate to find a place I ended up signing the contract.
Do I have any basis on canceling the contract? I read that I could cancel If I give a 1months notice, and I am okay paying for that one month since it’s the law. but I really don’t want to pay the full deposit for such a scam…
thank you in advance for any help or adice you can give
A friend told me that if I cancel the contract within few days, then the entire contract becomes null, is it true? Again, thank you in advance for any kind of help or advice
You may cancel the contract 1 month in advance. In theory, the unused parts of the deposit should be returned. In practice, landlords often fail to do that believing that the sum will be too small to be worth the hassle of going to the court. Else, they may try to find semi-legitimate reasons to keep the deposit (e.g. supposed damage).
In Lithuania, you may claim that you signed the contract by mistake. If you claim this soon after the contract, it may be declared null. However, in your case, this is more difficult, as you did not sign the contract in advance – you have signed it after seeing the apartment, so there was no mistake at the time. If you have evidence of them promising a different apartment, then save this evidence; if there will be any court, this evidence will be useful – however, it is still not exactly the same as if you would have signed the contract before coming to Lithuania.
In the future, should the same situation arise, I’d advise to get an AirBnB for a couple of days, and then at the time seek a new “permanent” apartment.
If two companies (one being international and the other Lithuanian) sign a rental contract for residential property for a 3rd party tenant, would arbitration be an option for settling any disputes that cannot be resolved through negotiation?
In general, arbitration needs to be stipulated in the contract, or the companies need to agree on this at the time of the dispute. There is no way to “force arbitration” if one of the parties has never agreed to that.
As for the situation itself, I probably did not fully understand it. What kind of contract is that for the property? What is the relationship between these companies and the 3rd party tenant?
Hi
I moved into an apartment and got a contract. I have to declare my reaidency, as I need to pay my taxes and sodra as I’m selfemployed. The landlord doesn’t want to declare the residency, So it makes it impossible to pay and get the healtinsurance. Is it legal for them to deny declaring my residency, cause I really need that?
Thanks in advance
Often the reason for this is because the rent is illegal (the landlord pays no taxes) – did you sign any contract?
Otherwise, the refusal may be due to fear of a more difficult eviction.
In order to save one from the hassle, it is useful to ask about the registration *before* agreeing on the rent.
Because attempting to force landlord to do something typically means much hassle, costs, and possible counter-actions by the landlord – you probably wouldn’t want to live in such circumstances of conflict anyways, better to find a better landlord (where a contract is signed, although that may mean a higher price due to taxes but also more protection).
Hello Augustinas, is it mandatory for a landlord to give a receipt, and if so where can I find that law?
Thanks in advance, best regards.
Saulė
Hi Augustinas,
thank you for all the work done here. After obtaining the residence permit in Lithuania, within a month, I should provide to the authorities my residence address. But I need the permit to rent the house, what happens if I am not able to find it within a month? Can I provide the address of the hotel or airbnb?
Thank you in advance
Hi Augustinas,
I’m reading the Lithuanian Civil Code and I see this article:
Article 6.583. Payment of lease
5. The lessor shall have no right to demand the payment of lease in advance, with the exception of the lease payment for the first month.
This is another information I found in a document of Tenants Union:
– What is the legal concept (e.g. is the deposit an advance rent
payment or a guarantee deposit to cover future claims of the
landlord)?
The legal concept of the deposit is indicated in the Article 6.583 para 5 of the CC: the
lessor shall have no right to demand the payment of lease in advance, with the
exception of the lease payment for the first month. So the deposit is an advance rent
payment, which amount does the law limit. This rule is also applicable in the case of the
social house rent because the special law (the Law on the state support) does not
provide any other clause than this rule of the CC.
– What is the usual and lawful amount of a deposit?
Under the Article 6.583 para 5 of the CC the amount of a deposit is amount of the rent
payment for one month. The clause of the contract for more than one month deposit
payment will be null, but the contract itself will be valid.
Don’t should be then illegal for Lessors to ask more than one month deposit? Or is this allowed?
Hello Augustinas,
Really amazing thread here. Thanks for all the work you’re doing to help make Lithuanian law accessible for everyone.
Here’s my situation:
-I am hoping to leave my apartment before the lease finishes due to what I feel is a breach of contract on the owner’s part (also, she’s crazy and extremely disrespectful, but that’s not legally relevant lol). It’s a bit blurry, so I want to make sure I do everything possible to make sure I can get my 2-month (800€) deposit back.
-In our contract, we have this clause: “Upon receipt of a notice of a malfunction of appliances, water supply, heating, or sewerage appliances in the apartment, the landlord has the right to inspect the premises immediately, with or without the tenant (or his representative), with the necessary prior telephone warning.”
-We have been having a heater malfunction, so I asked her to call a repairman. We had reset the heater so that we wouldn’t freeze and would be able to take a shower, but this is a temporary fix. She said she needed to check the heater before calling, and when she came, because we had reset it and it was technically working, she refused to call. Of course, it broke again the next day. I messaged her to come, but apparently, she didn’t see the message until after 10 PM, and then she asked me if I had reset it. I was already off my screens at this point, so I didn’t see the message or reply. Then, in the middle of the night, she comes banging on the door. She didn’t try to call first. She didn’t notify me in any way that she was coming. So, I got out of bed and told her that everything was fine for now and that we could discuss it more in the morning. She then started screaming and trying to force her way in and telling me that I would have to pay for the maintenance.
TL;DR:
So, in my opinion, she broke the contract when she didn’t notify me before coming. We have a clause in our contract that says the Lessor can get the deposit back if the termination is due to no fault of the Lessor. She broke the contract, so technically I should be able to get it back, right?
I know she will try to refuse, and I am thinking that maybe I could use your services to draft a letter threatening to sue, but I wanted to get your advice first.
Ultimately, I plan to leave the apartment regardless of whether I get the deposit back or not because I will NOT be paying this woman any more money now that she’s shown her true colors and I know for sure that she will try to steal the deposit money no matter what. But, 800€ is a lot of money for me, so I really hope there’s a way to get it back.
I also thought it might be helpful to contribute to this thread as I know many other foreigners whose Lithuanian owners show up unannounced and break the contract all the time with no fear of repercussions.
Thanks again! Any advice is deeply appreciated!
As I have mentioned in the replies to comments above, getting a deposit back is often difficult as the landlords know few people would go to the court for it. In your case, there are also clauses in your contract in landlord’s favor about the right to come immediately. There can be arguements in your favor as well, but such cases often depend on the judge appointed, and thus the likelihood to win is even more blurry, encouraging the belief on the landlord that you wouldn’t sue or even if you would you would possibly not win.
I would assume the likely outcome would be:
-I think there is a 70%-90% chance she would not return the deposit.
Then you may sue her in court to get that back, which may succeed or not (it would also depend on the other clauses of the countract).
I understand that in Lithuania the tenant can terminate the agreement anytime notifying 1 month in advance. In the contract that we are receiving as a proposal it is written 2 months.
“Either Party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement with written notice to the other Party given 2 (two) months before such termination date. The Party terminating this Agreement shall pay to the other Party a fine equal to 2 (two) months Rent. Such Rent shall be payable within 10 (ten) days as of the date of the termination notice sent by the terminating Party to the other Party”
Is this legal?
Thanks
Hello Augustinas,
Thanks for this super informative post (and following comments). I’m particularly interested in the illegal clauses, specifically the family size example. As a first time landlord, I want to be sure I’m working fairly with tenants.
In your opinion, is stating a maximum occupancy in the rental agreement illegal? I would like to state that the apartment lease is limited to two long-term residents, without prejudice to whether the two are partners, parent/child, etc. Is this prohibited? If so, I’ve seen 7 meters square mentioned as a minimum area for a regular adult rental. Does this mean that my 50m^2 apartment could be used by 7 adults and I would have no way to prevent that?
Thanks for your help.
Best,
Blake
How do confirm about the real owner before paying the advance deposit for the apartment? What documents I can ask the owner? What are the necessary precautions I need to take before paying the advance and making a rent agreement?
Have a good day.
Hi Augustinas,
Currently, the prices for heating are crazy, but I know there are government compensations to offset this.
My landlord gave me this month’s bill and it’s incredibly high, I asked her whether or not it includes the government compensation and she said yes, it is included, a great total of 6 euros discount.
The issue is that she is the owner of the apartment, and she is registered here, although she is not living here, I am. I asked her if I could register at the address to get fairer compensation and she said it’s not possible.
What are my options in this case?
Hi, I want to apply student visa with family. For that I have to show the residence. Does it means a contract or any booking or reservation will help in this regard?
Hi Augustinas,
This is a really useful thread.
In our case, we left early from the flat and handed over our deposit. He gave the landlord back the keys early. Now 7 weeks later she is telling us about damages that she is billing us for. Is this legal? Much of what she claims is petty but it is adding up fast. She is also claiming damage that was there when we arrived at the flat (we have photos in most cases) but I am concerned that she is using us as a way of refurbishing what was a very tired flat.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Is there a Renters Rights association in Lithuania?
There were some but, in general, they were of little importance. Compared to some Western countries, in Lithuania, renteres rights is not considered a serious or socially important thing. That is because 90%+ people own their real estate in Lithuania, often with no credits attached. Thus, unlike in some countries where many poorer people are renting apartments, in Lithuania only certain particular groups tend to rent (e.g. students who come to study in major cities, or foreign expats).
It’s been 1 year and the landlady hasn’t returned my deposit nor does she respond to my messages.
During the initial months, she said I will be receiving only 50% of my deposit (She even added her traveling expenses worth 40-50€). When I asked her the split of the charges she stopped replying completely.
Can someone please tell me how to proceed?
Hello, I left my apartment and before leaving I started noticing bedbugs on it. Prior me leaving the place, I notified my former landlord who spoke English but didn’t understand about the type of bugs I was talking about and I recommended a fumigation prior having a new tenant, because of the confusion, he didnt fumigate. A new tenant arrived (2 weeks after I left) and the problem continued so he contacted me to ask more about the bugs with no bad intention at all. My question is… Could I be liable for this issue with bedbugs in anyway with things such as payment for fumigation or replacement of stuff?
I ended a lease a month ago and the lessor sent a 500 euro bill for damages(slight burn on a table, slightly broken holder in the fridge and not so clean pillows).
Lessor kept the deposit and is asking more money for the compensation but 500 seems irrelevant considering the minor damages and is threatening to file a case. Please advise.
How it should be by law:
The exact damage is calculated (e.g. based on the prices of repairs, replacements). If the damage is larger than 500 euro and irregular (not regular wear and tear) then you’d have to pay additionally. If the damage is smaller, the lessor should return a part of the deposit. This “solution”, if there is a disagreement, however, may only be achieved through a case in a court of law.
How it most often happens in reality:
Typically, the lessor keeps the deposit. As the sum is small, neither party goes to the court of law as such costs and time needed would not be worth e.g. 200 Euro changing hands in one direction or another. So, no real damage is calculated and deposit becomes the de facto compensation.
Hello, Augustinas. I am a Lithuanian who wants to rent an apartment. I have potential foreign tenants – two brothers, 20 and 17 years old. Both would live together. The elder is studying in Lithuania and is working.
Can I rent an apartment to these two young people with a one year lease? If so, is it possible and how to legally ensure that the elder is fully responsible for the younger?
What would be the risks to the landlord of having a minor tenant without parents, only with a brother?
Can I terminate the lease agreement if one of the tenants is a minor, if there are reasonable grounds for termination?
You may rent it to the elder one and he would allow his brother to live there (i.e. you would sign the contract only with the elder one). That way, he will be fully responsible for himself and for others who live in the apartment.
If he is 17 years old, as I understand, he would become 18 very soon, however, indeed, there may be problems in case you would want to stop renting and they would refuse while the person is still underage.
Hello, Im wondering if my landlord can sue me if I don’t pay the rent. I canceled the contract before the expire date and I told her 2 months in advance. I usually pay the last rent with my deposit but this time my landlord won’t accept this solution nor give my deposit back since I cancelled before expired date. So if I just leave (since she took my whole deposit) can she sue me?
Anybody can sue anyone but the questions are two:
1)Would they? Ususally, litigation is unpopular in Lithuania for small sums.
2)Would they win if they do? Depending on contract, there are reasons and terms to cancel it in advance that are considered legitimate and the tenant is allowed to cancel despite of what the contract says.
I think, unless the situation is unique (e.g. especially problematic landlord who dislikes and want to punish you, or the sums are huge and we speak about some big house rather than the apartment) litigation is highly unlikely in Lithuania in such cases.
It’s been more than a year and my land lady is not returning my deposit nor replying to my texts. How do I proceed?
Could you please help me with it @Augustinas Žemaitis
You may go to the court of law, which is the only institution that could make a binding decision in such case
Thank you for the reply. <3