Apartment hunting information everybody needs to know in Hungary

The university admission scores have just been determined and made public, which means that the chase for available apartments has already begun. Napi.hu has gathered some useful information to keep in mind if you are planning to move into an apartment while doing your studies.

Obviously, the main obligation of the lessor is to allow the lessee to use the property, while that of the lessee is to pay the rent and to preserve the state of the property.

You should also be aware that one important condition for the lease agreement to take place is to pay a certain amount of deposit, in which case the amount submitted cannot be more than three times the rent. On the contrary case, the lessee may request the Court to lessen the required deposit, D.A.S. Legal Expenses Insurance Ltd. says.

One of the most important obligations of the lessee is to pay the rent in time. Furthermore, one should be aware that the lessor has a lien on the lessee’s assets, which means that the lessor can impede the transportation of these assets as long as the lien exists.

Apart from the rent, the expenditures on the maintenance of the lease (overheads) is another recurring question. Therefore, the lessor must present the energy certification of the apartment prior to signing the agreement and to hand it over at the time of the conclusion.

Damages: Who pays what?

Another very important question is to determine who pays for which additional costs. Normally, the lessee is responsible for smaller expenditures, while the lessor pays for the bigger ones, such as building maintenance or ensuring the working order of the main household equipment.

As for who bears the costs of the maintenance, renovation, and replacement of covers, doors, windows and other furniture in the apartment, the mutual agreement of the lessor and the lessee is the guiding principle. In its absence, the lessee is responsible for paying the costs related to maintenance and renovation, and the lessor is responsible for the replacement of obsolete equipment and furniture.

If the damage is caused by the lessee, the lessor may demand the correction or the compensation of the damage.

Furthermore, the lessee should tolerate the necessary works done by the lessor in order to preserve the state of the lease; however, the lessee must not tolerate housing improvements. Before starting such works, the lessor must inform the lessee about the foreseeable duration of the works.