Implementation of the possibility to agree on contractual penalties in the contract for renting an apartment (No. 935)

With effect from July 1, 2020, there was, among other things, a significant legislative change of legal regulations of the apartment lease agreement. The law newly provides the possibility for the lessor to agree with the tenant on a contractual penalty in the event of a breach of obligations arising from the rental agreement. That was not possible under the previous legislation. Therefore, if a contract for renting an apartment contained any provision on a contractual penalty before July 1, 2020, such a clause was invalid and the tenant did not have to pay it.

However, the newly implemented possibility of agreement on a contractual penalty in the contract for renting an apartment does not constitute the possibility for the lessor to incorporate a contractual penalty into the contract without any limitation. It is not possible to impose excessive obligations on the lessee; therefore, it is not possible to claim a disproportionate contractual penalty from him. It will thus always be necessary to determine whether the fine is permissible in the present case and whether it is a reasonable amount, too.

If the breach of the tenant’s obligation, to which the contractual penalty is bound, occurred by the end of June 2020, the tenant is not obliged to pay the contractual penalty. However, if the right to a contractual penalty arose only after this date, the lessee will have to pay it in case its amount is proportionate.

publikováno 20.07.2020