The law establishes a list of cases in which the tenant has the right to demand termination of the property lease agreement on his own initiative.
Grounds for unilateral termination of the contract by the lessor
In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 556 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Special Part), the lease agreement may be terminated early at the request of the lessee in the following cases:
- the lessor does not provide the property for use by the lessee or creates obstacles to the use of the property in accordance with the terms of the agreement or the purpose of the property;
- the lessor fails to carry out major repairs of the property within the timeframes established by the contract, or if there are no timeframes established by the contract, within a reasonable timeframe;
- the property transferred to the tenant has defects that prevent its use, which were not specified by the lessor when concluding the contract, were not known to the tenant in advance and could not have been discovered by him during the inspection of the property or checking its serviceability when concluding the contract;
- if the property, due to circumstances for which the tenant is not responsible, is in a condition unsuitable for use.
Let us consider these conditions in more detail.
Obstacles to the use of property by the tenant
Article 547 of the Civil Code obliges the lessor to transfer the property to the lessee in a condition that corresponds to the terms of the contract and the purpose of the property with all its accessories and documents. The property must be transferred within the time period specified in the contract, and if this time period is not specified, within a reasonable (i.e. sufficiently necessary for this) time period. If this obligation is not fulfilled, the lessee has the right, at his own discretion, to demand that the property be reclaimed from the lessor in court or to demand termination of the contract.
An obstacle to the use of property may be expressed in the difficulty or termination of access to it (installation of locks, denial of access by security), absence of conditions (disconnection of electricity and other utilities), failure to provide accessories and documents without which the property cannot be used (failure to provide a copy of the technical passport when this is required to obtain a license).
Failure of the landlord to perform obligations to repair the property
When accepting property for rent, the lessee expects that it is in a condition that allows it to be used for certain purposes. Major repairs are aimed at preserving the main properties of the property.
In accordance with Article 552 of the Civil Code, the obligation to carry out major repairs of the leased property is imposed on the lessor, and in the contract the parties may shift this obligation to the lessee. If the lessor does not carry out major repairs of the leased property (except in cases where this obligation is assumed by the lessee), this violates the rights of the lessee.
In these cases, in addition to the right to independently carry out repairs or reduce the amount of rent, the tenant has the right to terminate the contract.
Disadvantages of Rented Property
The tenant has the right to demand termination of the lease agreement if defects are discovered that objectively impede the use of the property.
The tenant has the right to refer to deficiencies only if:
- these defects were not specified by the lessor when concluding the contract;
- the defects were not known to the tenant in advance;
- the defects could not have been discovered by him during the inspection of the property or checking its serviceability when concluding the contract.
An example of such a situation could be hidden defects in the building (design flaws) that make it unsafe to use for rental purposes.
Unsuitability of property for further use
The tenant has the right to demand termination of the contract if the property, due to circumstances for which he is not responsible, is in a condition unsuitable for use. Such circumstances may include cases of destruction of or damage to property as a result of an accident, fire, natural disaster, caused by the fault of third parties or due to force majeure. If the condition of the property has changed due to the fault of the tenant, he has no right to use this basis for termination of the contract.