A common situation is when, in addition to the monthly rent, the tenant pays a certain security deposit and/or security deposit. Under certain conditions, after the end of the lease, this amount must be returned to the tenant, which many of them are not aware of.

In this article we will describe in detail what grounds exist for the return of deposits and collateral, how the procedure is carried out and features that should be taken into account.

○ What is a security deposit and a deposit for an apartment when renting.

Collateral and deposit when concluding a rental transaction are concepts that have significant differences.

• “The fulfillment of obligations can be ensured by a penalty, a pledge, retention of the debtor’s property, a surety, an independent guarantee, a deposit, a security deposit and other methods provided for by law or agreement (clause 1 of Article 329 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).”

As follows from this law, a deposit is a guarantee amount that can be used to pay off a debt in the event of its formation. For example, it can be used as payment for the last month of stay.

As for the deposit, these are financial resources in the amount established by the parties (usually equal to the monthly payment). This is a kind of landlord insurance that will compensate for damage to his property, if applied. The concept of a security deposit is not reflected in the legislation; it is equivalent to a security deposit.

• “A monetary obligation, including the obligation to compensate for losses or pay a penalty in the event of a violation of the contract, and an obligation arising on the grounds provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 1062 of this Code, by agreement of the parties, can be secured by the contribution of one of the parties in favor of the other party of a certain sum of money (security deposit). A security payment can be used to secure an obligation that will arise in the future.
• If circumstances stipulated by the contract occur, the amount of the security payment is counted towards the fulfillment of the corresponding obligation (clause 1 of Article 381.1).”

○ How the deposit and collateral should be formalized.

Before transferring money, you need to make sure that there are no problems with its return in the future. To do this you need:

• Include in the contract a condition for making a deposit and/or a deposit.
• Transfer funds only with a receipt signed by the parties.
• Correctly carry out the reception/transfer of living space:
  • Draw up an inventory of property with a detailed list of what things and in what quantities are in the apartment.
  • Draw up a transfer deed that records the actual condition of the property at the time of renting it out, and also indicates the data of all meters.

Such actions will help avoid conflicts when terminating the lease.

○ When the security deposit is returned.

The conditions for the return of insurance amounts must be provided for in the agreement. The parties may, at their own discretion, determine the circumstances under which funds will be returned, provided they do not contradict the law. However, there are general conditions that provide for the return of funds to the tenant.

Both the security deposit and the deposit must be returned to the tenant if:

• He promptly warned the apartment owner in writing about his intention to move out early (as a rule, this must be done a month in advance).
• Upon completion of the lease relationship, there are no mutual claims between its participants.

○ Actions in case of non-return of deposit or security deposit.

In all these cases, the lessor must return the money. But if he evades his obligations, he needs to know how to protect his rights. The course of action depends on the specific situation.

✔ If there is a lease agreement and receipt.

In this case, the tenant has the highest chance of returning the required money. The most extreme option is to go to court, which will most likely be on the plaintiff’s side. But if there is no possibility or desire to start a lawsuit, you can try to resolve the case pre-trial:

• Explain that if he goes to court, he will suffer more losses.
• If you suspect tax evasion, you can threaten to contact the tax office.
• Do not hand over the keys until the full amount has been received.

The transfer of the deposit and/or deposit prior to arrival must be confirmed by a receipt, which will be required to be presented in order to receive a refund. If it is not possible to resolve the case pre-trial, it is worth knowing the statute of limitations for filing a claim. Such a claim relates to general civil cases, and its statute of limitations is 3 years.

✔ If there is no lease agreement, but there is a receipt.

The receipt serves as proof that the funds were received by the counterparty. Therefore, even if a lease agreement has not been drawn up and signed, the owner of the apartment is obliged to comply with the legal requirements for the return of the security deposit or deposit amount.

In pre-trial proceedings, the issue can be resolved through negotiations. If there is no rental agreement, the likelihood that the owner of the property is hiding income from its rental is quite high. Therefore, you can try to explain to him that if he contacts the appropriate authorities, the amount of his damages will be significantly higher than the pledge or deposit.

If the case cannot be resolved pre-trial, you will have to turn to the courts. Among the evidence base for the illegality of the actions of the owner of the living space, the receipt occupies a fairly important place. The statute of limitations in this case is 3 years. The keys should not be given away until the issue is resolved.

✔ If there is no rental agreement and receipt.

In this case, the chances of getting the money back are the smallest, because there is no agreement regulating the rights of the tenant and a receipt confirming the fact of transfer of money. Most likely, going to court will not give a positive result due to the lack of evidence. Therefore, all the tenant can do is try to negotiate with the owner. A measure of influence could be the threat of going to the tax office, because most likely he does not submit taxes on rental income. It is not worth interfering with the police in this matter, because the effect may be the opposite. The tenant may be charged with trespassing on someone else's property without an agreement. It is also impossible to hold the keys, because due to the lack of an agreement and receipt, the tenant does not have the right to stay in the premises.

Therefore, if there are no evidentiary documents, the chances of returning the deposit or security deposit are zero.

○ What to do if the landlord is hiding.

If the owner of the apartment simply ignores the demand to return the due amount and does not get in touch, you need to act as follows:

• Draw up a deed of transfer unilaterally and send it to the place of registration by registered mail.
• Draw up a statement of claim, attaching a copy of the act and the shipping receipt.
• Provide the court with evidence of attempts to contact the owner of the apartment (testimonies of witnesses, sent messages on the phone).

If the landlord hides, this may also be regarded by the court as unlawful actions towards the tenant, which increases the likelihood of the latter winning. It is important to take into account that the statute of limitations in this case is also three years, so it is necessary to initiate litigation before the expiration of the specified period.

For people who rent housing, the state may eventually return some of the money spent. Not everyone will be able to receive the coveted amount of 13%. Persons who have not received a refund in excess of the amount paid for a new property will be able to use this right. To exercise their rights, citizens must register a rental agreement with the Unified State Register of Real Estate and submit documents that will confirm all expenses.

The Ministry of Finance proposed changes to the taxation system. The head of the Federal Tax Service spoke with the question of providing a property deduction for citizens for rented housing. The tax deduction when renting an apartment will be 13% of the amount specified in the contract. In this regard, it is proposed to make changes to Article 219 related to the rental of residential premises.

This subtraction scheme has long been practiced in European countries.

Additionally, Part 3 of Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is expanded by a provision according to which the payer does not have the right to a material deduction when purchasing housing if he has exercised his personal right to receive a social deduction for rental expenses.

Is it possible to get a tax deduction when renting an apartment?

At the moment, it is not possible to receive a property deduction when renting an apartment. It can be obtained when renting out a non-residential property. When renting non-residential premises, the tenant can purchase a VAT deduction for household services (electricity, water, gas), if they are included in the lease agreement.

The difficulty is that citizens who rent out their homes and those who rent do not provide information to the Federal Tax Service. Persons renting residential premises may be interested in the return of funds paid to the landlord. But not every owner of his apartment wants to disclose information regarding the rental of housing.

According to statistics, 20% of landlords pay taxes for renting out an apartment for use to others. This situation has its advantages: if the tenant, through his actions or negligence, causes damage to the landlord, the owner of the premises has the right to demand compensation and file a claim in court. And also protect yourself from the premature departure of a temporary tenant.

Tenants will also have their advantages:

• The person is insured against eviction from the apartment.
• There is no threat of an increase in rent for housing. In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the rental price of housing will not be able to change more than once a year.

How will I receive a tax deduction?

The compensation scheme is as follows:

• The tenant submits official salary documents
• Concludes a rental agreement with the owner of the apartment. This transaction will oblige the lessor to pay certain taxes.
• The refund amount will not exceed 260 thousand rubles per year, but not more than 390 thousand rubles.

A citizen who has official earnings may receive the right to a deduction when purchasing real estate if the employer makes income tax deductions. At the rate of 13%, any individual will be able to return the money when purchasing real estate in the following cases:

• Purchase of real estate.
• Building your own home.
• Expenses incurred for the renovation of residential premises (payment documents confirming actual expenses are required).
• Refund the interest on the paid mortgage.

Refund for rent

If the bill actually comes into force, some of the money spent could be returned. The procedure will be similar to that carried out when purchasing an apartment.

The following documents will need to be prepared:

• An individual who rents housing is required to submit a 2-NDFL certificate from their place of work;
• Fill out a tax return in form 3-NDFL;
• Submit an application for a deduction;
• Provide a rental agreement;
• Prepare payment documents confirming payment for the rental of the premises.

Certificate 2-NDFL Declaration in form 3-NDFL Application for a deduction
Lease agreement A document confirming payment for rent of the premises

After reviewing the application, Federal Tax Service specialists will return the excess amounts paid and receive information about the person renting out the property.

A person may be held accountable for concealing the fact of renting out housing.

Is there a need for a law?

The Ministry of Construction admits that the introduction of a new bill into tax legislation will help bring landlords out of the “dark zone”. When renting out an apartment, individuals are required to pay tax to the state. An apartment rental agreement is generally drawn up without registration (if the agreement is issued for a period of less than a year).

Renters will be able to recoup a certain portion of their rental costs.

Problem

Hello!

Around the beginning of 14, we started renting out an apartment to a married couple, took an advance payment for the first and last month, everyone paid on time until the summer, in general, we still owed 100,000 rubles for 3 months,

We moved out in October, wrote a receipt saying that they undertake to return by 12/31/14, it’s already April and we still can’t achieve anything(

They answer the phone, but we only hear promises...

Help me, what should I do, write a statement to the police?

How to correctly draw up a statement of claim to the court to collect a debt based on a receipt? http://taktaktak.org/problem/7312

http://taktaktak.org/problem/10851

How to repay a debt if you have a receipt?http://taktaktak.org/problem/8231

Indexation of the amount of debt on property http://taktaktak.org/problem/10851

If you had a written lease agreement, then you need to go to court, the law will be on your side.

If a lease agreement was not concluded, then you can try to return the money through the court by applying the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on unjust enrichment.

The legal provisions governing legal relations related to unjust enrichment are enshrined in Chapter 60 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The plaintiff has the right to demand from the defendant losses incurred as a result of unjust enrichment; in addition, it is permissible to file a claim for the recovery of interest for the use of someone else’s money. When filing a claim, it is necessary to take into account the list of grounds under which unjust enrichment is not subject to return.

A statement of claim for unjust enrichment is filed with a district (city) court if the value of the claim exceeds 50,000 rubles. Territorial jurisdiction is determined by the general rules established by Articles 28, 29, 30 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

All the best!

Many people who rent a home want to know whether it is possible to get a tax deduction when renting an apartment, or whether current legislation does not provide for such a possibility.

This interest did not arise out of nowhere - recently information has been actively disseminated in the press and on the Internet that tenants are about to have such a right. What are these rumors based on, how true are they, and what tax deductions can you get for renting an apartment? Let’s figure it out together.

In accordance with the provisions of the current legislation, citizens who rent out their own residential property must pay a tax on the income received, the amount of which is 13% of the amount of money received. However, in practice, not all landlords declare such income and, as a result, transfer part of the funds to the budget.

Obviously, providing tenants (those who rent a home) with the opportunity to obtain a tax deduction may entail their desire to enter into a formal agreement with the property owner.

This may be the reason for some apartment owners to come out of the “shadow” and formalize them as landlords.

According to some data, currently about 90% of all housing in our country is rented illegally, without reporting to the tax office. This means that every year millions of rubles “flow” past the budget.

The costs that the state will have to incur when providing tax deductions to citizens renting housing cannot be compared with the amounts that are currently being hidden by unscrupulous landlords. So the benefits of adopting such norms for the state and for renters are obvious.

However, so far there is no law allowing tenants to receive a tax refund when renting housing or receiving a plot of land for rent.

According to news reports, the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation, together with AHML, are considering this issue. It is assumed that the issued tax deduction for rental housing will allow the taxpayer to save up to 390,000 rubles in one calendar year. More precisely, return 13% income tax on this amount.

Why has the bill not been considered yet?

And yet, despite the news that renters will receive a tax deduction, which have appeared in the press with enviable regularity over the past few years, the corresponding law has not yet been adopted by the authorities.

Moreover, there is not even a bill that could be submitted to legislators for consideration. The fact is that many representatives of government structures do not consider such a measure of social support for the population to be sufficiently effective for the budget.

According to some representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, it is worth encouraging citizens to buy their own housing, including by providing them with housing.

How to get some of the money paid for rent back

It is assumed that the mechanism for returning part of the tax to the tenant will not differ in any way from the procedure for receiving money in other cases, for example, when buying an apartment. In order to minimize personal income tax when renting an apartment, you will need to contact the tax service with a package of documents, which should include:

• a certificate in form 2-NDFL, which confirms that the tenant has official income from which he pays personal income tax;
• declaration 3-NDFL (you can draw it up yourself or seek help from a specialized company);
• application for a deduction;
• a residential lease agreement, which specifies the amount of the monthly payment;
• checks confirming the fact of payment of rent.

Obviously, in this case, employees of the Federal Tax Service will not only be able to return part of the personal income tax from rent, but will also receive complete and up-to-date information about the citizen who is renting out housing.

If he does not pay taxes on income from this activity, the tax authorities will deal with this issue - the current legislation provides for various types of punishments: from a fine for illegal business activities to imprisonment (in the event that the amounts of funds hidden from the tax service are excessively large ).

Let's calculate the benefits

How to calculate the amount of tax deduction if it is still provided to tenants?

And in this part of the tax legislation, the authorities do not intend to make significant changes. For residential tenants, the execution of a formal agreement that specifies the exact cost of leasing the property will be the basis for receiving a portion of the personal income tax paid. The exact amount of the refund will be calculated according to the same scheme that is used when calculating the amount of deduction in other cases.

In order to understand how the procedure for determining the amount of deduction will occur when renting out an apartment, let's look at a simple example with the following initial data: a taxpayer with an official income of 45,000 rubles rents an apartment, the rent of which costs him 20,000 rubles monthly.

The amount of the tax payment that he makes monthly to the budget will be 45,000 * 0.13 = 5,850 rubles; annually he pays tax in the amount of 5,850 * 12 = 70,200 rubles. The tax base (i.e. the amount of funds subject to income tax) will be 45,000 * 12 = 540,000 rubles.

For the same year, he pays the owner of the apartment 20,000 * 12 = 240,000 rubles. If the law on providing a tax deduction for housing tenants is adopted in the form in which it is currently being considered, the maximum amount of compensation that can be received in one calendar year will be 390,000 rubles, which means that our taxpayer, to calculate the amount compensation will be able to use the costs incurred by him in full.

To determine the amount of funds to be returned, we will make the following calculations: 540,000 – 240,000 = 300,000 rubles. The tax paid on this amount will be 300,000 * 0.13 = 39,000 rubles. Taking into account the fact that 70,200 rubles were withheld from the taxpayer, the amount of the refund will be 70,200 – 39,000 = 31,200 rubles.

Or, in our example, you can get the refund amount much easier. Since our amount paid for renting real estate is less than the established limit, we will be able to receive tax compensation in full: 240,000 * 0.13 = 31,200 rubles.

An individual will be able to check the deadline for transferring personal income tax from rent directly to the tax service, but it is assumed that it will not differ in any way from the deadlines established for the provision of other types of deductions, that is, it will not exceed 4 months from the date of submission of documents to receive it.

If you need personal advice or assistance in filling out the 3-NDFL tax return, as well as sending it to the tax office through the “Taxpayer Personal Account” service, feel free to go to our page.

Its termination must take place in accordance with the law. Moreover, it is better to familiarize yourself with the procedure for terminating the contract even before its conclusion, so as not to discover any unpleasant surprises for yourself later.

The purpose of this article is to draw your attention to the main aspects of termination of a contract in general and to the features of termination of a lease and rental agreement in particular.

General provisions for termination of contracts are described in Ch. 29 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Grounds for termination of lease agreements

Article 450 Civil Code of the Russian Federation the following are provided grounds for termination contracts:

1. Agreement of the parties
2. A court decision at the request of one of the parties in case of a significant violation of the contract by the other party
3. A court decision at the request of one of the parties in cases provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, other laws or the agreement itself
4. Unilateral refusal to perform a contract by one of the parties, when such refusal is permitted by law or agreement of the parties

The procedure for terminating a rental or rental agreement

According to Art. 452 Civil Code of the Russian Federation the agreement to terminate the contract is made in the same form as the contract.

That is, if the contract is concluded in simple written form, then an agreement signed by the parties is sufficient for termination. But if the contract was registered in accordance with the requirements of the law, then its termination must be registered in the same manner.

Termination of contract by court decision

If you legally demand that your employer/tenant terminate the contract, and he refuses this requirement or does not provide an answer within the agreed period, then you have the right to apply to the court to terminate the contract ( clause 2 art. 452 Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

What happens after the contract is terminated?

Indeed, what will happen after the termination of the lease agreement, why is this necessary?

Upon termination of the contract, the obligations of the parties cease ( clause 2 art. 453 Civil Code of the Russian Federation). That is, after termination of the contract, you no longer have to provide your apartment to the tenant/tenant; accordingly, he must vacate the premises. He, in turn, also no longer has any obligations: neither to pay rent, nor to maintain the leased property.

The contract will be considered terminated from the moment the agreement on its termination is concluded or after the state registration of such an agreement (if the contract itself was registered) ( clause 3 art. 453 Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Please note that when renting residential premises (under an agreement concluded for a period of at least one year), it is not the agreement itself that is subject to registration, but the encumbrance of ownership rights arising on the basis of such an agreement. Accordingly, the termination of the rental of residential premises must also be registered (Clause 6, Article 26.1 of the Federal Law of June 21, 1997 “On State Registration of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions with It” No. 122-FZ).

If you were forced to terminate the contract by a significant violation of the terms of the contract by the other party, then you have the right to demand compensation for losses caused to you by such termination ( clause 4 art. 454 Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Features of terminating a lease agreement

As we promised, we will now move on to the specifics of terminating specific types of contracts. Let's start with the lease agreement.

Like any civil contract, a lease agreement can be terminated by agreement of the parties on any terms that they agree with each other.

As for the termination of the contract at the request of the parties, the grounds for such termination are enshrined in Art. 619 Civil Code of the Russian Federation(Early termination of the contract at the request of the lessor) and Art. 620 Civil Code of the Russian Federation(Early termination of the contract at the request of the tenant).

Before moving on to a detailed consideration of these articles, we note: both states that the parties can provide other grounds for terminating the contract at the request of each of them.

According to Art. 619 Civil Code of the Russian Federation, at the request of the lessor, the rental agreement may be terminated early by the court in cases where the tenant:

1. uses the property with a significant violation of the terms of the contract or the purpose of the property, or with repeated violations;
2. significantly deteriorates the property;
3. fails to pay rent more than two times in a row after the expiration of the payment period established by the contract;
4. does not carry out major repairs of the property within the time period established by the lease agreement, and in the absence of them in the agreement, within a reasonable time period in cases where, in accordance with the law, other legal acts or the agreement, major repairs are the responsibility of the tenant.

The grounds on which early termination of a contract in court can be demand the tenant, fixed in Art. 620 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. These include cases when:

1. the lessor does not provide the property for use by the tenant or creates obstacles to the use of the property in accordance with the terms of the agreement or the purpose of the property;
2. 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 should not have been discovered by the tenant during an inspection of the property or checking its serviceability when concluding the contract;
3. the lessor does not carry out major repairs of the property, which is his responsibility, within the time period established by the lease agreement, or, if they are not included in the agreement, within a reasonable time period;
4. Due to circumstances for which the tenant is not responsible, the property will be in a condition unsuitable for use.

Notice of termination of the lease agreement.

If it becomes necessary to terminate the contract for one of the above reasons, an appropriate notice of termination of the lease agreement should be prepared and sent.

This notice must be in writing. It should be handed over to the employer in person or by mail with acknowledgment of delivery.

Like all documents, the lease termination letter must reflect the following information:
Title of the document;
Details of the party sending the notification and the recipient of the notification;
Details of the agreement to which this notification relates;
The grounds on which this notice is given;
Contents of the requirement expressed in the notification.

You can download a sample notice of termination of a lease agreement

Features of terminating a residential tenancy agreement

Unlike a lease agreement, a rental agreement can be terminated only in the manner prescribed by law. The parties themselves cannot include in the contract grounds for termination that differ from those contained in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Employer may terminate the contract at any time with the consent of citizens permanently residing with him, notifying the landlord in writing 3 months in advance ( clause 1 art. 687 Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Such notice must be given in person or by mail with return receipt requested. The list of notice details is generally similar to the notice used when terminating a lease agreement. The main difference is that in the notice of the lease agreement the employer does not need to justify the reason for the notice, because for him the right to terminate the contract is enshrined in law.

The tenant can also apply to the court to terminate the contract if the rented premises are no longer suitable for habitation or are in disrepair ( clause 3 art. 687 Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

For landlord the possibilities of terminating the contract are quite strictly limited. In accordance with clause 2 art. 687 Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the rental agreement may be terminated in court at the request of the lessor in cases:

• failure by the tenant to pay for the residential premises for six months, unless a longer period is established by the contract, and in case of short-term rental, in case of failure to pay the payment more than twice after the expiration of the payment period established by the contract;
• destruction or damage to residential premises by the tenant or other citizens for whose actions he is responsible.

In this case, by a court decision, the tenant may be given a period of no more than a year to eliminate the violations that served as the basis for termination of the residential lease agreement. If, within the period determined by the court, the tenant does not eliminate the violations or does not take all necessary measures to eliminate them, the court, upon repeated application by the landlord, makes a decision to terminate the rental agreement.

And at the request of the employer, the court, in a decision to terminate the contract, may postpone the execution of the decision for a period of no more than a year.

The landlord also has the right to go to court with a request to terminate the contract if the tenant or the citizens for whose actions he is responsible use the residential premises for other purposes and systematically violate the rights and interests of neighbors. But before going to court, in this case the landlord must warn the tenant about the need to eliminate the violations.

Let's sum it up

For termination lease agreement the parties are given more freedom than to terminate the tenancy agreement. This is explained by the fact that under a lease agreement an apartment is rented to a legal entity, and under a lease agreement - to an individual. And in this case, the legislator was guided by the goal of preventing the unlawful eviction of citizens from rented apartments.

We remind you once again: before concluding an agreement, evaluate under what conditions it can be terminated if necessary, so as not to find yourself helpless in the face of a cunning tenant or simply be left without payment with an idle apartment.