It has been a few months since the rental contract between the tenant and the landlord was formalized, but one of the two wants to terminate it. Is it possible?, how can it be done?, and, above all, from which month can you terminate the rental contract? Today we are going to answer these questions. In addition, we are going to focus on the tenant’s perspective for this article. We will explain why later on. If you are interested in knowing as of which month you as tenant can terminate your rental contract, please keep reading.
We will talk about how to terminate a rental contract, from which month it can be done and if there are any penalties in the process.
Let’s get started.
From which month can you terminate the lease?
In cases of rental housing, the tenant can terminate the rental contract after six months from the date of signing it. This is something that has not changed in the last reforms of the Law of Urban Leases (LAU) which is the one that regulates the rents.
Specifically, the term after which the tenant may withdraw from the contract is set forth in Article 11:
“The tenant may withdraw from the lease, once at least six months have elapsed”.
These six months will begin to count from the signing of the contract or from the time the tenant has had possession/access to the property if it was not the same day.
Is it possible to agree a term longer than six months to withdraw from a contract?
No, in no case the law allows to agree a term longer than six months to withdraw from a contract. What can be agreed upon is a shorter term. The LAU does not put any inconvenience in it.
If in the rental contract it is stipulated that the minimum term to cancel the contract is four months and the tenant leaves after the fifth month, it is fine.
If the lease stipulates that the minimum period for terminating the lease is one year and the tenant leaves after six months, the lease would be invalidated in court. That is to say, it would be null and void, since the law prevails in this case, even though both parties had agreed so.
How far in advance must the landlord be notified of the cancellation of a contract?
The landlord must be given at least thirty days’ notice prior to the termination of a lease. These thirty days do not refer to the calendar month (from day one to day one) but to thirty calendar days, i.e., if you give notice on the 15th that you want to leave the apartment on the 15th of the following month, it is perfectly legal, although it may be detrimental to the owner if you leave the apartment in the middle of the month and not at the beginning.
In addition, these thirty days also include weekends and holidays, as they are calendar days and not working days.
Can the landlord evict the tenant before the end of the lease term?
No, only the tenant can terminate the lease before the end of its term, provided that he has fulfilled all his obligations.
Since the last reform of the Law of Urban Leases (LAU) the minimum duration of a lease is one year extendable to five, but the owner can only recover the apartment before five years for own or family use. However, if after five years the owner does not want to continue renting the property, he can take it back.
Of course, if the tenant has stopped paying the rent or has breached his part of the contract, the landlord can withdraw from the contract and repossess the property. Here are all the cases in which the landlord can evict the tenant from the property.
Cases in which the landlord CAN terminate a contract.
- If the landlord proves that he needs the property to live himself, his spouse or ex-partner or a relative of first degree of consanguinity, provided that one year has elapsed since the signing of the contract.
- If the tenant stops paying the rent, the landlord will be able to repossess the property as long as the landlord has sent the tenant a summary of everything owed and a demand for payment that the tenant has ignored.
- If the tenant does not pay the security deposit or does not assume the rent adjustments subject to the CPI or other indicator.
- If the tenant dies and no member of the family living with the tenant claims ownership of the lease.
- If the landlord discovers that the tenant is subletting the dwelling.
- If the tenant is using the apartment for use other than as a dwelling such as a commercial space or a tourist rental.
- If the tenant causes damages to the apartment, starts works that were not allowed, causes a lot of nuisance to the neighbors… Although this is more swampy ground.
Is there any kind of penalty for the tenant to cancel the contract prematurely?
Yes, but only if the contract stipulates that, in case of early departure, the tenant will have to pay an indemnity.
In this case, if the tenant leaves the apartment before the end of the contract, he/she will have to pay a penalty equivalent to 15 days of the monthly payment of the months remaining until the end of the contract. That is to say, if the contract was for a minimum duration of one year and the tenant leaves after six months, the tenant will have to pay 15 days of rent for the 6 months that he will not be in the apartment. Therefore, for each month that is missing to fulfill the duration of the contract, the tenant will have to compensate with 2.5 days of rent. It is not very well understood (in the end how many days of total rent do you have to pay?).
This is what the LAU stipulates in its article 11:
“The parties may agree in the contract that, in the event of cancellation, the lessee must compensate the lessor with an amount equivalent to one month’s rent in force for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled. Periods of less than one year will give rise to the proportional part of the indemnity”.
What if the tenant leaves before six months?
If the tenant leaves before the first six months, he could be obliged to pay the remaining months until the half year is completed. There is already jurisprudence in this regard, but the LAU does not have a specific section for this case.
Thus, if the tenant leaves after four months, he would have to pay the equivalent of two months’ rent, and he would also face a penalty. In any case, it would have to be decided by a court, if you go to court and not to an amicable agreement.
Now you know that to withdraw from a contract you have to wait six months.
