LITHUANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Evaldas Klimas and Vygintas Kuprys, WALLESS
The tenant is entitled to terminate the lease agreement unilaterally if the following occurs: • the premises cannot be used by the tenant due to circumstances not attributable to the tenant; • capital repair works are not performed by the landlord when the landlord is obliged to perform them; • the landlord unreasonably refuses to sign the handover deed; • the premises have material defects that prevent the tenant from using them for their permitted use; or • the landlord commits another material breach. Under the Civil Code, the tenant may termi- nate the lease if the landlord transfers title to the leased object. Usually, commercial leases include a waiver of the tenant’s right. In addi - tion, in the case of an investment transaction (asset deal), the buyers request the sellers to obtain specific confirmations from the tenants (usually anchor tenants) that the tenants will not terminate the lease in the case of a change of landlord. 6.20 Registration Requirements There is no obligation to register lease agree - ments in the public register. However, only registered lease agreements may be invoked against third parties (eg, the new owner of the real estate). The costs for registering the lease agreement with the Real Estate Register are EUR7.33. High - er fees may apply for expedited registration. 6.21 Forced Eviction A landlord seeking the eviction of their tenant is generally required to apply to the court. If the tenant fails or refuses to vacate the premises
after the adoption of the final decision in favour of the landlord, the landlord will need to apply to a bailiff for the enforcement of the court deci - sion. The length of an eviction proceeding depends on a number of circumstances, such as the availa - bility of written evidence, the tenant’s objections, etc. In the best-case scenario, the first instance court’s decision, which may be appealed, could be expected in approximately two to three months after application to the court. Although there is no extensive case law sur - rounding the landlord’s rights to exercise self- defence, commercial leases usually contain a right for the landlord to: • cut off the supply of electricity and other public utilities; • lock the doors; • make an inventory of, and remove, the ten- ant’s property; and • invoke other similar measures against a ten - ant who refuses to vacate the leased prem - ises. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party Termination of a lease by a third party is not common and can only occur in specific circum - stances such as defence of public interest and land expropriation. This process is usually time- consuming, as it may involve legal proceedings to contest the termination in court. 6.23 Remedies/Damages for Breach In the event of a tenant breach leading to lease termination, damages are usually limited to direct expenses suffered by the landlord. These expenses are either covered by stipulating a fixed sum (either as an exact amount or as a percentage of the lease fee) of liquidated dam -
605 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook