Residential rental agreement with extension

The wording of automatic extension in the text of the contract

Back in 2001, the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia published information letter No. 59, which states about the automatic extension of the contract: “The contract is extended for another year if, within 10 days after its expiration, the parties have not communicated in writing their desire to terminate it or change the terms.”

It seems that everything is simple. The contract has expired, its participants are silent, which means they do not object to the extension. However, experts disagree on this issue. It turns out that the contract may turn out to be indefinite, because specific dates are not indicated. In addition, participants in contractual relations may simply forget that the contract is coming to an end.

There are two opinions:

1. An agreement containing the specified phrase is renewed only for the next year. Then it needs to be revised, renegotiated, re-issued.
2. The agreement with the above wording will be valid until one of the parties expresses a desire to terminate it. Of course, in writing.

The courts also cannot reach a consensus on this matter. In any case, the presence of a clause on the possibility of automatic extension in the absence of written objections from the parties allows the contract to be extended for at least another year. Maximum - to infinity.

Timeliness of events

Before formulating a renewal clause, you should find out what legal methods exist for implementing this process.

The first and most convenient is an additional agreement. Its terms remain unchanged, but the clause regarding the validity period changes. That is, if the agreement was concluded in 2020, then at the end of its expiration an additional agreement should be signed extending its validity for another year.

Document structure:

• name “additional agreement”, indicate the number of the agreement to which it is drawn up. The validity period and the date of its preparation are indicated;
• main part: it specifies the parties who take part in the conclusion of the addendum. agreements, persons responsible for this process;
• further, the validity period of the new contract, that is, the period of its extension, is given;
• possibly a description of the start date;
• it is important to indicate that the remaining clauses of the transaction remain in force;
• details of the parties.

An additional agreement is drawn up in two identical copies.

A similar structure can be used for any type of agreement in any area. If it is necessary to change some conditions, then these points are also described in the addendum. agreement.

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This option is often used, especially when it comes to certain contractual relationships that involve the performance of a particular action. In this case, the language describes the extension of the validity period in the absence of such. This means that the parties or one of the parties did not express a desire to terminate the agreement.

Most of these options relate to the extension of deposit agreements. That is, the period within which a person must apply for his contribution is indicated. If this does not happen, the agreement is considered automatically extended.

Often such issues relate to residential rental agreements, especially short-term ones of up to 1 year. In the case of rental relationships, the absence of a renewal clause risks the landlord being able to evict his tenants at any time after the expiration of the lease.

Several mandatory conditions can be identified, without which it is impossible to carry out actions aimed at prolonging the document.

Firstly, it is necessary to draw up a special agreement (protocol) supplementing the main document. It indicates in turn the entire list of important aspects, including for how long the document needs to be renewed (if possible, a specific date should be indicated). It is important to highlight all the conditions, new points of the rule, indicate whether they change or remain the same.

The protocol is drawn up in free form and signed by both parties. The main details and dates must be recorded, and at the end of the procedure a stamp must be affixed, confirming the authenticity and legitimacy of the written document.

Secondly, it is possible to immediately include in the text of the contract a clause regarding the automatic increase in the validity period of the agreement. It is worth considering that experts do not recommend specifying a new period of more than one year. Also, at any time the contract may be terminated at the initiative of the counterparty.

To extend the contract, business participants are given the opportunity to conclude a new contract. This is a good option when it is necessary to continue cooperation on radically new terms. The new agreement may differ significantly from the previous one in its structure and content of information points.

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If the parties are aimed at long-term cooperation, it is important to renew or extend the term of the agreement drawn up between them in a timely manner.

In practice, participants in civil relations often forget to renew the agreement reached. This occurs due to the fast dynamics of business life and, as a result, the conclusion of a large number of agreements.

Automatic extension greatly simplifies the process of interaction between subjects of civil law. Moreover, if one of the parties has expressed a desire to terminate the contract, then this can be done freely at any time.

If there is no automatic renewal clause, what should I do?

What to do if the clause on the possibility of automatic extension of the contract was not included in it:

• Draw up an additional agreement. It specifically states that “the contract will be automatically extended for the next year.” Add the terms of the extension, of course, if the parties to the agreement have discussed them and have no objections.
• The second option also involves drawing up an additional agreement. However, in this case, the parties specify specific dates and indicate which clauses of the contract they would like to change. Or they simply write that all terms of the contract remain unchanged.

That is, in any case, you will need an additional agreement to the contract. But it can be composed in different ways.

How to extend a deal depending on the term{q}

First of all, you should find out for what period the rental agreement was drawn up. By default, the deal is for 5 years. In addition, the parties have the right to specify in the paper a specific lease period.

A short-term contract issued for a year is extended for the same period, unless other data is specified in the additional agreement. The interested party must take the following actions:

1. Notify the other party of your intention to extend the lease term.
2. Offer to draw up an additional agreement on the extension of employment in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 452 Civil Code of the Russian Federation, clause 1, art. 450 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and paragraph 1 of Art. 674 or draw up a new agreement. The last option is especially relevant if you plan to change the terms of employment. In addition, an agreement drawn up according to the latest model will have a more stable legal basis.

Article 674 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Residential tenancy agreement form

1. The rental agreement for residential premises is concluded in writing.
2. A restriction (encumbrance) on the right of ownership of residential premises arising on the basis of a lease agreement for such residential premises concluded for a period of at least a year is subject to state registration in the manner established by the law on registration of rights to real estate and transactions with it.

If the parties were unable to reach an agreement or there was no notice to extend the lease of the apartment, the short-term agreement, the term of which has expired, automatically ceases to be valid. In this case, both parties are relieved of their obligations towards each other in accordance with clause 2 of Art. 683 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Reference! When concluding a long-term lease agreement for a period of 1 to 5 years, the tenant has the advantage of prolonging the agreement. But the property owner can also take the initiative and send the tenant a corresponding notice.

It is important to consider that such an agreement must be registered with Rosreestr. Otherwise, it will not have legal force.

To renew a long-term agreement on the same terms, the landlord does not have to inform the tenant of his intentions. According to para. 2 tbsp. 684 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the transaction will be automatically extended if the owner does not notify of his unwillingness to continue cooperation or the need to change the terms of lease, and the tenant continues to use the living space.

If you need to conclude a deal on other terms, you should take the same steps as when prolonging a short-term contract.

In the additional agreement, you can specify the duration of the period for which the contract is extended.

Examples of contracts with automatic renewal

There are types of contracts that are automatically renewed without additional agreements, even if there is no such clause in the document at all . All such cases are spelled out in the second paragraph of Article 540 of the Russian Civil Code. It states that if the parties do not object in writing, the contract is automatically extended.

A striking example of such an agreement is a real estate lease agreement . According to the second paragraph of Article 621 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if the owner does not object, then the tenant can still live peacefully in this apartment, even if the contract has already expired.

In fact, such an event is interpreted as the beginning of the term of a new lease agreement, which does not need to be registered again with state regulatory authorities. It is very convenient for apartment owners who can take advantage of this nuance.

If the contract is not terminated, it is extended

In this situation, its participants can approve not only a new validity period, but also fundamentally new parameters of the agreement (Article 421 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

• Signing an additional agreement to the original contract. Such a document indicates the period for which the contract is extended. It is also not prohibited to adjust other terms of the agreement at the discretion of the parties (you can read more about this in our article Additional agreement on extending the term of the contract).
• Automatic renewal by force of law. Certain types of agreements are extended by default due to legal requirements. For example, a management agreement for an apartment building (clause 6 of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation), etc.
• Automatic renewal by joint decision of the parties. The parties to the agreement can themselves, without special instructions in the legislation, agree on the automatic renewal of the agreement.

Which option to choose{q}

From a legal point of view, it is better to re-draft the tenancy agreement. This will make it easy to track the beginning and end of the lease period if the parties have claims against each other. The number of additional agreements is not officially recorded.

On the other hand, if a trust relationship has developed between the landlord and the tenant, there is no need to draw up a new document. By drawing up additional agreements, you can make any adjustments to the text of the main agreement.

Documents required for renewal

When renewing the lease, the parties must provide documents confirming their right to participate in the transaction. The owner of the living space must have the following documents with him:

• passport;
• documents confirming that the apartment belongs to the landlord, for example, a certificate of registration of ownership;
• papers reflecting the path of transfer of ownership of real estate, for example, a purchase and sale agreement.

Reference. In most cases, only a passport is required from the employer. But the homeowner, if desired, has the right to request additional documents.