Lease Disputes - The Contract Neither Side Reads to the End
Leasing is the most common real estate relationship and the least formalised: a verbal agreement, a one-page template from the internet, a "deposit" with no rules. Disputes arise at three points: when one side wants out before the term ends, when the deposit is withheld for "damage", and when the tenant neither pays nor leaves. In all three cases the law gives a specific answer, which is often a surprise to both sides.
This page looks at leases from both sides. For the tenant: how to protect yourself from a landlord's self-help, rent increases and losing the deposit. For the landlord: how to write a contract that is enforced quickly against a non-paying tenant, and how to evict lawfully without ending up as the defendant. Separately, the specifics of commercial leases.
Updated · Practice area: Real estate lawyer
Five Lease Disputes and What the Law Says About Each
Where the contract is silent, the Code's rules apply, and they often differ from what the parties consider "normal".
The Lawful Route to Eviction - From Notice to the Bureau's Act
Checking the ground and the period for termination
Fixed-term or open-ended, which ground applies (non-payment for more than two periods, damage to the property, breach of use), what notice is required. A wrongly formulated ground means the claim is dismissed in court and everything starts again from the beginning.
Written warning and termination
Within the contractual and statutory period, with confirmation of delivery (signature, post, the email stated in the contract). A warning with an opportunity to clear the arrears, then a termination notice. Both documents are mandatory for the court.
A claim for eviction and arrears
In one claim: confirmation of termination, vacating the premises, rent arrears, utilities, damage, penalties. The fee is based on the arrears. The lawyer requests expedited hearing where available and interim security over the tenant's assets.
Judgment and the bureau
Once the judgment takes effect, a writ goes to the bureau; the bailiff gives the tenant a period to leave voluntarily, then compulsory eviction with an act, an inventory of belongings and the police present. The whole route takes 4-8 months; self-help saves none of that time, because it adds a claim from the tenant.
Recovering the arrears
Arrears from an evicted tenant through ordinary enforcement: salary, accounts, assets. The deposit is set off against the arrears. The lawyer advises landlords to have a guarantor or a notarial enforcement clause in the contract; that skips the court stage.
Commercial Leases - Where the Contract Is the Value of the Business
Leasing a shop, an office or a restaurant differs from a residential lease in three ways: the tenant invests in the premises (fit-out, equipment, licences tied to the address), the term and the right to renew are a matter of the business's survival, and the contract clauses (exclusivity, subletting, change of use, construction works) directly change the value of the business. Here a one-page template is not merely a risk but a guarantee of loss.
The lawyer's work for the tenant: the term and a priority right of renewal on fixed terms, a rent indexation formula and cap, compensation for the investment (less depreciation) if the landlord terminates early, the fate of inseparable improvements, and registration in the registry so that a sale of the premises binds the new owner. For the landlord: control over use and works, a ban on subletting or a consent rule, security (a bank guarantee, a deposit of several months), and a fast termination mechanism for non-payment.
Commercial lease disputes are often settled without court but with a lawyer: stopping the business is expensive for both sides, and negotiation over compensation for the investment, extension of the term or a rent review is worth more than a judgment. The lawyer's job is to run that negotiation on the strength of the contract clauses, not on goodwill.
What a Lease Must Say So That No Dispute Starts
- Term and renewal
- A fixed term with a specific date; the renewal rule (automatic or by agreement), the notice period for non-renewal. Treatment as open-ended when occupation continues after expiry is a Code rule both sides should remember.
- Early termination rule
- For both sides: grounds, notice period, compensation. The tenant leaving early on "one month's notice" and the landlord on "three months" plus damages is often a fair balance.
- Rent and indexation
- Amount, currency, payment date, a late-payment penalty, an indexation formula (inflation, exchange rate) and a maximum annual percentage. Without indexation the rent is fixed until the end of the term.
- Deposit
- Amount, purpose (damage and arrears), refund period from handover, the deduction rule based on the act and documents. "Counted as the last month's rent" only if written in.
- Handover and return acts
- The condition of the premises and furniture with photos on moving in and out, meter readings. Without an act, deducting from the deposit and claiming damage is practically impossible.
- Registration in the registry
- A registered lease follows the property: a new owner cannot terminate it. In the tenant's interest for a long or commercial lease; a landlord planning a sale takes it into account.
What to Record During the Tenancy - for a Deposit or Damage Dispute
- A move-in act or, failing that, photos and video of every room, the furniture and any damage on the first day, dated and sent to the landlord.
- Proof of rent and deposit payments: transfers with a purpose note; for cash, a receipt every time.
- Every notice of a breakdown in writing and the landlord's reaction: the basis for deduction from rent and for damages.
- A move-out act or photos and video on the day of leaving, confirmation of handing over the keys: the deposit refund period runs from here.
- Recording the landlord's self-help: a changed lock, cut utilities, removed belongings; photos, calling the police, witnesses.
- A copy of the contract signed by both sides: a verbal lease is valid, but proving its terms is hard.
Three Lease Disputes
A deposit kept for "furniture wear"
After a 2-year tenancy the landlord withheld a 1,500 lari deposit over "the sofa and the walls". Lawyer for the tenant: move-in photos, the normal wear-and-tear principle, no damage assessment from the landlord. The court ordered the full deposit plus interest.
A landlord who changed the lock
The tenant had not paid for 2 months; the landlord changed the lock and put the belongings in the stairwell. Lawyer for the tenant: self-help, damage to belongings, the cost of alternative housing. The landlord won the rent arrears, but the damages and costs exceeded them; the net result favoured the tenant.
A restaurant told to leave because of a sale
A 5-year commercial lease, an 80,000 lari fit-out; in year 2 the premises were sold and the new owner demanded they leave. Lawyer: the lease was registered in the registry, so the new owner was bound by it. The restaurant stayed to the end of the term; by negotiation, an early exit with compensation for the investment in year 4.
Questions About Leases
Our lease is verbal. Do I have any rights?
A verbal lease is valid and every rule of the Code applies: eviction only by court, refund of the deposit, allocation of repairs. The problem is proof: the term, the rent, the deposit. Transfers, messages, witnesses. A verbal lease is treated as open-ended, which makes termination by notice simpler for both sides.
The flat I rent has been sold. The new owner is asking me to leave.
If the lease is registered in the registry, the new owner must honour it to the end of the term. If not, the new owner may terminate, but within the Code's notice period rather than "tomorrow", and the loss caused by early termination (moving costs, the rent difference) is claimed from the former landlord who broke the contract.
I am a landlord; the tenant has not paid for 3 months and does not answer the phone. How long will eviction take?
The lawful route: a written warning with a deadline, termination, a claim, a judgment, the bureau; typically 4-8 months depending on service problems. A notarial enforcement clause or a simple early termination rule in the contract shortens this. Self-help (the lock, the utilities) does not speed the process up and adds a claim against you.
A pipe burst in the flat and the neighbour was damaged. Am I liable or the owner?
The technical condition of the utilities is the landlord's responsibility unless the contract says otherwise and unless the damage was caused by your act. Towards the neighbour the owner answers as keeper of the property; you only in the case of fault. Immediate notice to the landlord and an act from the homeowners' association are your protection.
Short-term Airbnb-style letting: is that a lease too, and can the association ban it?
Short-term letting is legally a lease or a service and is the owner's right; the association can prohibit it only if that is in its charter and the letting breaches the use of common property or neighbours' rights. Tax registration and municipal rules are a separate matter. The lawyer checks the association's charter and demands.
Lawyers for Lease Disputes
A lease dispute is won with acts, notices and compliance with the lawful procedure; self-help hurts both sides. Within 15 minutes the coordinator connects you with a lawyer who handles residential and commercial leases on either side.
No published lawyers in this category yet
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Call: 568 330 318Deposit Withheld, Being Pushed Out Early, or Your Tenant Neither Pays Nor Leaves?
In a free consultation the lawyer tells you which rule governs your contract (or its absence), which step to take today and which in court, and how not to become the defendant yourself. The coordinator phones within 15 minutes.