Real Estate Leasing
1. PRIMARY RESIDENCE LEASE is stipulated by articles 574-618 of Civil Code and by article 2 of the No 1703/1987 Act as restituted by Article 1 § 5 of the No 2235/1994 Act that oblige both the contracting parties to three years of compulsory minimum agreed duration unless the lease is subsequently terminated by a Notarial Act. Primary residence lease is commonly seen and tenants who meet certain income criteria receive a state subsidy as well.
2. SECONDARY RESIDENCE LEASE is now stipulated also by articles 574-618 of Civil Code.
3. Those who enter into contract BEFORE 3-1-2014 concerning COMMERCIAL LEASE are obliged by law to a twelve-year-lease duration even if a shorter duration was agreed, as specified by article 13 § 1 subparagraph a of the No 4242/2014 Act (Greek Government Gazette Vol. 50 Α/28.02.2014) i.e. “the lease that falls within the scope of the P.D. 34/1995 and is concluded after the entry into force of the present are governed by their contractual terms, the provisions of the civil code and P.D. 34/1995, with the exception of articles 5-6,16-18, 20-26, 27 par. 2, 28-40, 43, 46 and 47 thereof”.
4. Those who enter into contract AFTER 3-1-2014 concerning COMMERCIAL LEASE are obliged by law to a minimum three-year-lease duration even if a shorter duration was agreed, as specified by article 13 § 1 subparagraph b of the No 4242/2014 Act (Greek Government Gazette Vol. 50 Α/28.02.2014) i.e. “the lease of the above paragraph is valid for three (3) years even if it has been agreed for a shorter or indefinite period, and it can be terminated by a new agreement proven by a document of a certain date. The complaint shall be in writing and its legal effects occur three (3) months after its notification”.
5. COMMERCIAL LEASE TERMINATION BY THE LESSEE The commercial lease can be terminated by the lessee on conditions provided for by law and in particular by the article 43 of the P.D. 34/1995 as restituted by article the 17 § 1 of the No 3853/2010 Act and defines that: “the lessee can terminate the lease one (1) year after the initial date of the contract. The complaint shall be in writing and its legal effects occur after the lapse of three (3) months from the lease agreement notification. In this case, the lessee owes the lessor compensation equal to one (1) monthly rent, as it has been formed at the time of the lease termination”. Kolonaki: 2103623876 Ilioupoli: 2103002819 4 Merlin St/ 12 Al.Panagouli St Of course, the above-mentioned list of lease agreements and their terms is indicative since there are also lease agreements of the State, of legal entities controlled by the State, short-term leases, etc. that are governed by more specific provisions. The lawyer of our team who works on the lease agreement drafting is responsible for presenting all the information needed especially when it comes to rights and obligations to the parties before contracting.
LEASE AGREEMENT REGISTRATION
It is of great importance to register the data of the lease agreement on the AADE platform without undue delay because by acting so, the lease acceptance by the lessee is facilitated which means that the owner’s right to legal pursue by issuing a lease order is ensured, as well as in the case of the tenant’s de rivation of VAT number, etc. Otherwise, the lease details shall be registered on the AADE platform within the deadlines provided for by law and be accepted by the tenant.
EVICTION
The problem: Rent Arrears and the lack of contribution to the charges based on the use of the property’s common spaces. The solutions:
1. EVICTION ORDER. The most common and efficient way of achieving the suspension of a malevolent tenant and the property liberation by contacting your lawyer. The first step is to address an extra-judicial notification to the tenant (or the spouse in the case that the property is used as primary residence) called to conform the settled by law 15-day-deadline starting from the notification date within which the debtor is obliged to pay the due rents. The “bad payers” are usually familiar with the above-mentioned process having as a result either prolonging the non-payment period or looking for another residence to rent since the lessor most of the times doesn’t send the out-of-court notice immediately just hoping against hope that the tenant will settle his debt. So, with a minimum cost (the out-of-court notice expenses) you prevent a further inconvenience and damage. Note that, according to article 637 of the Civil Procedure Code, if there is another delay in the future, not another notification is required, because the extra-judicial notification in force covers present and future damage.
Consequently, if no payment takes place within 15 days, the lessor’s advocate applies for the issue of an eviction order to the competent Court and the latter is usually issued within a week. The advocate can ask for the due rents or any other charges burden the tenant acting on behalf of the owner for as long as the lease is active. Then the creditor’s advocate has a bailiff notify the eviction order to the lessee informing him for the lease termination and his obligation to leave the property within twenty days starting from the notification date. The lessee has the right to oppose to the eviction order within 15 working days from the order’s notification by raising reasons for cancellation, although not being able to suspend the eviction order’s execution.
If the lessee fails to comply with the aforementioned deadline, then the bailiff is responsible for executing the order which was assigned to by the advocate and make the lessee remove himself from the leased property. Then the bailiff records all the items found in the lease and delivers them to a trustee. The lock is changed. The trustee is obliged to keep the tenant’s belongings somewhere else for six months. However, the tenant leaves the lease voluntarily before the ending of the eviction process without though handing over the keys at all or even handing them over improperly. In all cases the owner has to receive written proof of the keys and the leased property handing over, otherwise the eviction order must be executed anyway even if the execution involves an empty lease. For all the above reasons, the owner should consult a lawyer before receiving the leased property.
2. ACTION FOR EVICTION ON THE LEGAL BASIS OF RENTAL ARREARS AND INSOLVENCY. There isn’t always possible to apply for an eviction order. On the contrary, issuing an eviction order is not the proper solution when either there is no legally binding agreement on the terms of lease or when the lease agreement has not been registered electronically on AADE platform, or when the agreement has not been accepted by the lessee, or even when each of the parties has been tacitly replaced by in the original lease agreement, as well as in most other cases. In such cases the lessor has the right to submit an action for eviction to the competent Court which defines the date of the hearings (within 2-3 months depending on the Court) and, in consequence, the body of the action accompanied with the Courts hearings date settlement is unduly notified to the lessee. Approximately 2-3 months after the hearing process a Decision executable with immediate effect is issued, notified to the lessee and then follows the eviction process. However, the lessee can fight against that Decision by appealing to the Court or by applying for the suspension of the Decision’s execution.
ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS DUE TO THE TERMINATION OF THE PRIMARY RESIDENCE LEASE AGREEMENT
A lease agreement is terminated when the time of the contractual duration as well as the time of the legal duration lapses (i.e. the minimum duration provided for by law). If a lease agreement expires but the lease continues to exist then the initial agreement is considered indefinite and can be terminated at any time in accordance with the provisions of Civil Code. If the lease agreement hasn’t been terminated yet, an action with the same claim can be filed but then the leased property would be liberated the day after the expiration of the lease agreement.
UNCOLLECTED RENT AND AFFIRMATION TEMPLATE
The uncollected rent are not taxed when a relevant lawsuit has been previously filed, either an eviction order or a lease payment order have been issued and presented to the competent Tax Office before the submission of the income tax return for the period concerned. A relevant affirmation with no certification of the authenticity of signature needed also accompanies the annual income tax return before the competent Tax Office. After examining the aforementioned documentation, the Tax Office registers the due rent as uncollected on the E2 form so they cannot be taxed.