Learn to detect abusive terms of a rental contract

When signing a rental contract, you must pay close attention to all the clauses that are included in said contract. On many occasions, some points are included that violate our rights as tenants and we must be careful so that this does not happen.

To do this, you must take a good look at the laws on this aspect. Know everything you need to know before hiring a rental, find out about the right of the tenant and you will save many distressing situations, time and money.

It is also important that you inform yourself of the rights of the owners when renting their home, you must know the law off by heart, in order to know what they can and cannot include in the rental contract.

We are going to delve into this topic so that you learn to detect the abusive clauses of a rental contract and know at all times how far you can go and what you can do with your home contract.

An abusive clause is one that, contrary to good faith, causes an imbalance, against the tenant and, therefore, in favor of the landlord. This imbalance is often significant and unjustified by contractual obligations.

Also, according to the LAU (Urban Leasing Law), we could say that an abusive clause is any clause that alters the rules of the housing lease, against the tenant, except in those cases in which the rule itself authorizes it explicitly.

There are many clauses that can be included in rental contracts. We are going to see those that the law collects, that are always exposed in the contract and how they should be. The most common clauses of the rental contract, below.

Rental duration

The rental time can be a sticking point when writing a contract. According to the LAU, the duration of the lease will be agreed by the parties with complete freedom.

If the rental contract has a duration of less than 5 years, it will be automatically extended each year, except if the tenant informs his landlord, at least thirty days in advance, that he does not want to renew the contract.

Pay attention to the clauses that indicate the duration of the rental contract, speak clearly with the landlord of the time you plan to be in the house and make all the points clear so that there is no misunderstanding.

Rent clause

The price of the house , stipulated in the clause of the payment of the rent, is another of the points to look at with a magnifying glass in the lease contract.

The rental price must be agreed in advance between both parties and must be accurately reflected in the contract. The rent will be paid monthly, unless another frequency is agreed and stipulated in the contract. The landlord may not request the advance payment of more than one monthly rent.

The way to make the payment, also, must be reflected exactly in the rental contract so as not to lead to misunderstandings. Make sure that everything is clearly exposed when signing your rental contract.

Repair or replacement of elements

The damage repair clause must be very clear to both parties, to know which are the charges that must be remedied by the tenant and which by the landlord.

It is the landlord who is obliged to carry out, without the right to raise the rent of the house, any repair that is necessary to preserve the appropriate conditions of habitability of the house in question. This obligation is released for the landlord if the destruction of the home is not attributable to him.

The tenant must inform the landlord, as soon as possible, of the need for repairs and may carry out those that are urgent to avoid damage or discomfort. Small repairs that require wear and tear due to ordinary use of the house will be the responsibility of the tenant.

Another different case is the improvement works that can be carried out, in this case the tenant is obliged to bear the realization of the same, which the landlord wants to carry out, provided that its execution cannot be expected until the conclusion of the lease.

Bail price

The deposit is mandatory, it must be delivered in cash at the time of the contract. The amount of the price of the deposit will be equivalent to a monthly rent that is stipulated as the rental price of the house.

At the end of the contract, the balance of the deposit must be returned by the tenant, after one month has elapsed from the delivery of the keys.

Neighborhood community expenses

The general expenses for the adequate maintenance of the property must be borne by the tenant, otherwise the clause will be void. Therefore, such action must be included in the contract. Many times it is agreed that these expenses are borne by the tenant, including in the price of the monthly rent of the lease.