Legal regulation of the lease agreement. How to compose a document correctly. Checking the lease agreement.

Contents:

• Main aspects of the lease agreement
• Correct execution of the lease agreement
• Stage 1. We prepare the necessary documents. 
• Stage 2. The subject of the contract is prescribed. 
• Stage 3. We define the parties to the contract. 
• Stage 4. We choose the term of the contract and the payment procedure. 
• Stage 5. We agree on the rights and obligations of the parties. 
• Stage 6. Liability under the lease agreement. 
• Verification of the lease agreement of the premises
• Termination of the lease agreement 
• Mistakes in the lease agreement

A lease agreement is a civil law document drawn up voluntarily between the owner of an asset and a person wishing to lease this property. The document is the basis for the transfer by the owner of the residential premises to the tenant for a certain fee for temporary use.  

The legal regulation of the lease agreement is that when it is drawn up, you can use the help of a lawyer to respect the interests of all parties and correctly compose the text of the document. 

Main aspects of the lease agreement

Any asset can be the subject of a lease. According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, there are several categories of lease relations that regulate the transfer to another person of motor vehicles, buildings and premises, land plots, enterprises, equipment rental, as well as financial means for leasing. 

The main features of the lease agreement are as follows: 

• Can be drawn up in free written form.
• The contract must specify two main aspects – the subject of the agreement and the amount of the lease. Otherwise, the document will not be legally binding. 
• The leased object must be individualized, that is, have that detailed description. The necessary information can be found on the Rosreestr website by ordering an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate (EGRN). As a rule, data such as the cadastral number and the actual address are used. 

Article 609 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation prescribes to conclude lease agreements in writing. However, there are conditions under which oral agreements can be applied:

• the contract is concluded between two individuals; 
• the lease agreement will be valid for less than a year; 
• the subject of the lease is movable property. 

The legal regulation of the lease of real estate for a period of more than 12 calendar months involves its registration with the state registration, cadastre and cartography service of the region at the location of the leased property. 

Correct execution of the lease agreement

The conclusion of any contract implies compliance with all the conditions under which, in the event of a dispute, the document will be recognized as valid. In the case of registration of a lease agreement for any object, it is necessary to perform simple actions. 

Stage 1. We prepare the necessary documents. 

To conclude a contract, you need to have passports of both parties and title documents confirming ownership of the asset. 

Stage 2. The subject of the contract is prescribed. 

The main condition for the lease agreement. If the subject of the contract – that is, the leased property – is not determined or has blurred signs, then the document is considered invalid. The defining feature of the object becomes its individual identifier – cadastral number for real estate, serial number – for equipment. 

Stage 3. We define the parties to the contract. 

These include:

• The lessor is the owner of the property. 
• Tenant — the user of the asset for a fee. 

The parties may be individuals and legal entities, as well as public authorities. 

Stage 4. We choose the term of the contract and the payment procedure. 

As a rule, the parties independently agree on the time, amount and payment procedure. 

It is important to know that the document prescribes all three points, including the expiration date of the contract. 

The payment procedure clause must contain the method of depositing funds or the subject of barter under such an agreement. Separately, you can make points about the indexation of rent or self-payment of utility bills by one of the parties. 

Stage 5. We agree on the rights and obligations of the parties. 

It is important to keep in mind that the landlord’s main duty is to hand over the property in proper condition at the appointed time. 

The main obligation of the lessee is to contribute funds in accordance with the procedure established by the contract, as well as to keep the property in a satisfactory condition, including when subletting. 

Stage 6. Liability under the lease agreement. 

For violation of the terms of the contract, sanctions may follow for both parties. As a rule, the unfair performance of their duties can threaten penalties, fines or penalties in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. 

The parties to the contract independently determine the subject of violations and responsibility for the occurrence of such situations. 

One of the sanctions may be early termination of the contract by the lessee for the transfer of unusable property or for hidden depreciation. The lessor, in turn, may terminate the contract due to delays in payment or damage to property. 

In the event of such situations, the parties often go to court with a demand for early termination of the contract, compensation for damages and the imposition of sanctions. 

Verification of the lease agreement of the premises

The legal regulation of the lease agreement is often its legal verification. The examination of the lease agreement is carried out in several steps:

• Ownership rights are checked. To do this, the lawyer orders an extract from the EGRN, gets acquainted with the text of the contract and the documentation for the object. 
• The legal status of the lessor’s company is being studied. The database of court decisions and open enforcement proceedings is being checked.
• The room plan is analyzed. 
• Potentially controversial points are being studied, for example: the procedure for canceling the contract, the possibility of increasing the lease unilaterally, the requirements to obtain consent to sublease.

The main purpose of checking the lease agreement is to protect the landlord or tenant from fraudulent actions by intruders. There may be several such “black” schemes. 

The most common situation is an attempt to hand over an object that does not belong to a person. 

It is much less common to find schemes when the landlord wants to get repairs at the expense of the tenant or when another object is actually leased, other than what is prescribed in the contract.  

Termination of the lease agreement 

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides two main reasons for termination of the lease agreement:

• termination of the contract by mutual agreement or at the request of one party in court; 
• unilateral refusal to perform the contract, if such a possibility is provided for by the contract. 

Mistakes in the lease agreement

First of all, this is the lack of a detailed description of the room. To a greater extent, this applies to large warehouses, and if the subject of the lease is not possible, then the contract can be challenged in court.

There are situations when the parties have not signed the act of acceptance and transfer of the premises. In this case, it is difficult to determine the exact date of the beginning of the use of the premises, as in the case of termination of the contract – it is unclear when the tenant left. 

In the case of a unilateral refusal, it is important that such an opportunity be prescribed in the contract. Otherwise, termination of the contract is possible only through a bilateral agreement. 

Legal assistance at the early stages will be most effective. The lawyer will take into account the wishes of the customer, check the compliance of the contract with the legislation and judicial practice. 

You will protect yourself from the dishonesty of the owner and in the event of a legal dispute, your arguments will sound much more convincing.