What to include in the rental agreement in Hungary

Renting for residency

To receive your residence permit, you will need to provide proof of long-term accommodation – in the case of renting, a rental agreement (there are other options too). Of course, you do not have to stay at one place throughout your residency. If your address changes, you can simply report it to the Immigration Office and you will get a new accommodation slip. (If you have an address card, that can be changed at a government office.)

Contents of a rental agreement

When you rent an apartment, the agreement should control all the aspects of your stay to prove your accommodation to the Immigration Office and to protect the interests of both you and your landlord. It should include the following:

1. Basic information on the rental

This should include the exact address with the floor and apartment number, the land registry number, and the size of the apartment (in Hungary, square meters are used). The apartment might also have additional storage space in a cellar, or an assigned parking spot.

Moreover, the apartment may or may not be furnished and equipped; this should also be listed at the beginning. While locals often take their own furniture when they move around, for someone who just arrived in Hungary, it makes more sense to find a home that already has all the furniture and equipment you might need. A detailed list of furniture and equipment is usually added to the agreement as an annex.

2. Contracting parties

The owners, the landlord (might be different), the renter.

3. Additional tenants

If you are moving in with your family, it is normal for the breadwinner to be listed as the contracting party, while the spouse and underage children are listed as additional tenants. Getting your family members listed is also important if they will be applying for residency based on family unification.

4. Subletting

Tenants are rarely allowed to sublet. However, you can agree on the conditions under which tenants may be added to or removed from the contract. That will usually require the explicit permission of the owner / landlord (especially if they want to be registered at the address).

5. Payment information

How you are supposed to pay rent, how often, by which deadline. In Hungary, employers usually pay salaries by the 10^th of each month, so it is normal to agree on a monthly rent to be paid by the 10^th or 15^th of each month. Rent is usually paid in advance, utilities later. If you pay in cash, ask for a receipt each time.

6. What is included in the rent

The monthly rent may or may not include utilities; this can depend on various factors, and it is sometimes negotiable. A common scenario is when the rent includes the common costs for the building, while water, gas, electricity, and heating must be paid monthly – either by the landlord and you will get a separate bill for them, or by you, in which case you will be asked to submit proof of payment for each. TV, landline phone, and internet access are often left in the hands of the tenant.

7. Deposit

Landlords often ask for a deposit before you can move in, which will be the equivalent of 2-3 months of rent. The deposit is to be paid back after you move out, and it is supposed to cover the bills for utilities you used while still living there but which arrived after you moved out, and the cost of repair for damages you might have caused. You cannot decide to live off the deposit and not pay rent during the last 2-3 months of your stay. Make sure to set clear conditions for when and how the deposit can be used, topped up, adjusted, or retained.

8. Damages, repairs, renovations

Unless otherwise indicated (although even this can be recorded), anything that happens to the apartment, the furniture, and the equipment that is the result of normal use is the responsibility of the landlord, and should be amended within a reasonable time, e.g. washing machine breaking down, flood damage from the upstairs neighbor, leaking tap. Any damage caused by you or the other tenants being reckless should be paid for by the tenants. If you want to make alterations or renovations, those will need permission; they might be covered or compensated by the landlord, just make sure to discuss this in advance.

Best practice: before moving in, take pictures or even a video to record the state of everything in your apartment. This way when you move out, it will be easier to determine whether any damage was your fault or not.

9. Declaration that you will abide by the rules of “intended use” and that you will comply with house rules.

You might be forbidden from smoking, keeping pets, or even allowing small children in the apartment. The landlord might be allowed to check on the property from time to time, but only when you are there. For this, an advance notice or a negotiation method should be specified.

10. Rules of modification

The agreement might need to be modified not only when you add or remove tenants. If you live in the same apartment for long enough, the rent will be raised – but the frequency and ratio of this can be controlled in the contract.

11. Term of the agreement

Rental agreements are usually for a fixed term, but indefinite-term contracts are also possible. Most contracts are for one year. For your residency application, you can have a fixed-term agreement if it says that it may be extended upon expiry (which is normally the case anyway).

12. Rules of cancellation

If either party fails to comply with their obligations, they usually have the right to cancel the contract without notice. Otherwise, the contract will require a 30-90 day notice before cancellation. If you want to move out early, you might reduce the notice period if you find someone to take your place.

+1: Eviction statement

To avoid litigation, the landlord might want you to sign a statement that says that if you do not comply with the terms of the contract, you will move out with all your belongings and give back the keys. If you fail to do that, the landlord will be able to evict you without the involvement of the court. This might sound scary, but it is in fact an administrative safeguard for your landlord. Make sure you understand and comply with the terms of the contract to avoid unpleasant consequences. This statement needs to be notarized to be enforceable.

+1: Handover record

When you move in, it is important to record the state of the property, the furniture, the equipment, and the utility meters (water, gas, electricity). As mentioned above, you can also take photos or even a video so later it can be proven whether damage was caused by you or before you moved in. Make note of the number of keys you received, too.

Attestation

To make the contract binding, it needs to be attested. Attestation can be provided by two witnesses, by a lawyer, or by a notary. Asking two witnesses to sign the agreement is the most common form of attestation. However, to make the eviction statement applicable without the involvement of the court, at least that section needs to be notarized.

If you choose a lawyer or a notary, costs are normally split between the landlord and the tenant.

Signing the rental agreement

Before you sign the agreement, make sure you understand the contents. The contract should be in Hungarian to be accepted by the Immigration Office, although it can also be bilingual (in the latter case, it is usually stated that the Hungarian version prevails if there is a dispute). If there is no English version, you can ask a Hungarian-speaking friend to go over the contract with you and explain your rights and obligations. If you sign a Hungarian contract and there is a dispute, you cannot say that you misunderstood.

Need help with immigration?

Helpers Hungary has 20 years of experience providing assistance with residency application to people moving to Hungary. Whether you are here to work, study, do business, or be with your family, we can help you navigate Hungarian bureaucracy. Just tell us about your plans, and leave the rest to our experts.

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