Can I terminate the lease agreement early (after I've moved in)?
Early termination of the lease agreement can occur for both parties for various reasons and circumstances (listed in the lease agreement or in the applicable law), mostly for personal reasons or for violation of rights and obligations either by you or the landlord.
Regardless of the reasons for termination of the lease agreement, the resolution procedure always depends on the type and conditions of the required termination.
With a notice period of 30 days without giving any reason
The lease agreement can be terminated unilaterally and without giving reasons with a standard 30-day notice period. This method is especially useful for longer stays or if you aren't in a hurry to move out. This type of termination doesn't require the landlord's consent and can be easily done by yourself via the My Housing web app as follows:
- Log in to the My Housing web app and click on the lease agreements section.
- Click on the "Detail" button next to the lease agreement you want to terminate.
- In the lease agreement details, click on the "Terminate agreement" button.
- Select the desired date when you want to terminate the contract (the system doesn't allow you to terminate the contract earlier than after 30 days).
- When you click on the "Terminate agreement" button, the landlord will be notified of the termination notice via a system email.
In the same way and under the same conditions, the landlord can also terminate the lease agreement (it may happen that you're given notice of termination and you have 30 days to move out of the accommodation).
Until the agreed date
However, the most common type of early termination of the lease agreement early is termination by mutual agreement, where you agree with the landlord on a date when you want to move out, or on a mutual compromise.
In this case, the landlord terminates the lease agreement from their Flatio application as of that date in the form of an amendment to the lease agreement.
The resulting amendment document must then be signed online with an authorization code, just like signing the lease agreement. Once the amendment document is signed, the system updates the rents in the My Housing application. You only pay for the number of days you actually spent in the accommodation.
In the event of termination of the lease during the rental period, the service fee becomes non-refundable and will be forfeited to Flatio.
Withdrawal from the lease agreement
A special type of early termination of the lease agreement is withdrawal based on consumer protection law, which is part of civil law and which takes into account the relationship between entrepreneurs (traders) and consumers (customers).
In the Czech Republic, this issue is regulated by the so-called NOZ (Act No. 89/2012 Coll., The New Civil Code, as amended). Since the lease agreement between you and the landlord is concluded online remotely (so-called distance way), the same conditions apply to shopping in e-shops as to a purchase agreement.
When does the withdrawal affect me?
The withdrawal from the lease agreement applies if the landlord acts as an entrepreneur, which means that it's likely that they have a rental business and rent rather short-term and for recreational purposes. If the landlord rents from time to time and usually for a longer period of time, they don't have the status of an entrepreneur and you cannot claim a withdrawal from the lease within 14 days.
However, if you meet the entrepreneur/consumer relationship, you have the right to withdraw within 14 days of signing the lease agreement without giving any reason. Please note that the lease agreement is signed after the landlord approves the reservation request in the lease signing process - the date of signing the lease agreement doesn't have to be the same as the start date of the lease agreement (in most cases the lease agreement is signed a few days earlier).
Withdrawal BEFORE the start date of the lease agreement
If you withdraw from the lease agreement within 14 days of signing it before you move in, the entire first rent and the service fee will be refunded.
Withdrawal AFTER the start date of the lease agreement
However, if you withdraw from the lease agreement after its start date (and therefore after you've moved in), the rent will be refunded proportionally according to the number of days spent in the accommodation - if the first rent has already been forwarded to the landlord, this compensation will be paid by the landlord, otherwise by Flatio.
How does it work?
If you want to use the withdrawal option and the landlord is acting as an entrepreneur toward you, you need to contact our Customer Care team to help you resolve the issue.
