HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Attila Ungár and Júlia Várkonyi, Lakatos, Köves & Partners
6.17 Right to Occupy After Termination or Expiry of a Lease According to the Hungarian Civil Code, if the tenant continues to use the leased premises after the expiration of the definite term and the landlord does not challenge this, the term of the lease becomes indefinite and may be terminated by ordinary termination. However, this possibility is usually excluded in commercial leases. If the tenant does not leave the leased premises by the termination date, the landlord is entitled to a so-called usage fee in addition to gener - al compensation claims under the Civil Code. According to the law, the usage fee equals the monthly rent. However, the parties usually stipu - late two to three times the amount of the rent in commercial leases. As a final solution, landlords may enforce the eviction declaration provided to them by the tenant. 6.18 Right to Assign a Leasehold Interest Generally, tenants may sublease or assign the use of the leased premises to a third party with the prior written consent of the landlord. A com - mon exception in commercial leases is sublet - ting to a company that belongs to the tenant’s group, in which case notification is sufficient. 6.19 Right to Terminate a Lease Both tenants and landlords are entitled to ter - minate the lease in accordance with the general rules of the Civil Code or Act LXXVIII of 1993, or with reference to the reasons contained in the agreement. According to Act LXXVIII of 1993 on the lease and alienation of apartments and premises, the lease agreement ceases: • if it is terminated by mutual consent;
• if the tenant dies; • if the tenant exchanges the apartment for another apartment; • if the tenant is expelled from Hungary; • if the tenancy is terminated by a court or other authority; or • by virtue of law. In the case of non-residential premises, the lease agreement ceases if the legal person terminates without a legal successor or if the tenant’s self- employed activity in the premises has ceased. It is typical in commercial leases to limit tenants’ termination rights. Generally, the tenant is enti - tled to terminate the lease if it is obstructed or significantly restricted in the proper use of the leased premises for a longer period (45–60 days) and the landlord fails to remedy the defect in due course (30–60 days from the tenant’s noti - fication). Landlords’ termination rights are usually broad - er and can be enacted upon the breach of any material tenant obligation, such as: • failure to pay rent, service charge or the cost of utilities; • failure to provide security; • use of the leased premises contrarily to the permitted use; or • failure to obtain or maintain licences or insur - ances. 6.20 Registration Requirements Hungarian law requires leases to be in writing. Leases cannot be registered with the land regis - try (contrary to certain other rights of use). 6.21 Forced Eviction Tenants can be forced to leave without a court procedure if a signed eviction declaration incor -
• if the apartment is destroyed; • if it is terminated by either party;
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