Tenant from Ukraine after 1 July 2024: what to check in the lease
A tenant from Ukraine can keep renting the flat. Why? Because the act of 15 May 2024 amending the special act extended their legal stay until 30 September 2025, replacing the previous deadline of 30 June 2024. The new rules came into force on 1 July 2024 and left the rules of the tenancy itself untouched. Three things matter for the lease: up-to-date details of the parties, documents and the lease term. Does a contract from 2022 expire in July 2024? Then decide before that date about the next year of the tenancy and get the paperwork ready.
What changes from 1 July 2024 for the legal stay of a Ukrainian citizen?
Article 2(1) of the special act in its new wording treats the stay as legal until 30 September 2025. There are two conditions: legal entry into Poland and a declared intention to remain in the country. Most of the changes apply from 1 July 2024. But not all of them - the text of the amendment in the Journal of Laws sets other dates for some provisions, for example 25 June or 1 September 2024. So for the details I recommend going to the act itself rather than to press summaries (these tend to simplify).
The amendment also touches family benefits and ties them to children’s schooling. It has no effect on the content of the lease. None.
The Ukrainian special act and renting: what the amendment does not change
The special act regulates the stay, not the tenancy. The rights and obligations of the parties still come from the lease and from the general rules on renting. Rent, the deposit, the notice rules and the rules for using the flat stay as you agreed them two years ago. And none of the new provisions requires you to renegotiate them.
How should you assess the tenant? The same way as any other: payments on time, the condition of the flat, how things have gone so far. Citizenship is not on that list. If the family pays on time and looks after the flat, these are really the only arguments that should decide whether you keep renting to them.
The act also does not tie the length of the lease to the date of legal stay. The lease term is up to the parties. And when a specific situation raises doubts, ask a lawyer.
Lease with a Ukrainian citizen: which details and documents to verify before extending
Before you sign an annex, check whether the tenant’s details entered in the lease in 2022 are still current. Two years is a long time and more than one thing may have changed:
- identity document - it may have been replaced, so the series and number in the lease may no longer be valid,
- people living in the flat - someone may have joined the family or moved out,
- contact details - phone number and e-mail address for correspondence.
The full range of information about a foreign national that should appear in the document is covered in a separate post on renting a flat to a foreigner. It is a different story when the party to the contract is not the family but an employer. Then different rules of representation and liability apply, and before extending you need to verify who can sign the annex on behalf of the company - that is the subject of the article on what is different about renting a flat to a company.
Was the lease drawn up in two languages? Both versions of the annex must say the same thing. It is also a good idea to state outright which one is binding if they differ.
Annex or new lease? How to extend the tenancy when your tenant is from Ukraine
The terms are not changing? A written annex with a new end date is enough. A new lease only makes sense with bigger changes, such as a different group of occupants or reworked settlement rules. An annex is shorter and keeps continuity with the handover report and the deposit from 2022. In this respect, extending a lease with a Ukrainian tenant does not require any special form.
Make one choice deliberately: whether the next year is to be another fixed term, or whether the tenancy becomes open-ended. The consequences of the two options differ a lot, especially when it comes to notice, as explained in the article on what a fixed-term lease agreement is and what the alternative looks like.
The worst thing is to leave the matter without a document. The tenant then keeps living there past the end date, and neither party is sure on what terms. So before the lease ends, talk to the family about their plans for the coming months - without demanding declarations that you do not require from other tenants.
Checklist before signing the annex in July 2024
An annex to a lease with a foreign national is prepared in the same steps as any other. In order:
- Check the exact end date of the current lease.
- Verify the tenant’s details and their current identity document.
- Update the list of people living in the flat.
- Enter the new end date.
- Confirm the amount of rent and charges, or record the change.
- Decide what happens to the deposit paid at the start of the tenancy.
- Make sure it is in writing and signed by all parties to the lease.
- Give each party its own copy.
Oh, and an extension is also a good opportunity to look over the flat and add to the handover report any changes that have occurred since the family moved in. In Tenanto, a reminder about a lease that is about to end helps you not miss the date, and the signed annex can be stored with the property together with the lease and the handover report.
Borderline cases, for example an unusual residence title held by the tenant or a dispute over the terms of the continued tenancy? Here it is better to go to a lawyer than to settle it yourself.
In practice, a tenant from Ukraine extends the lease on the same terms as any other tenant. The amendment only removes the doubt about whether their stay is legal. The rest depends on what you agree and write down in the annex.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The rules on stay do not block an extension, and the new end date is set by the parties themselves. A written annex signed by everyone who entered into the original lease is enough.
No, the amended special act on assistance to citizens of Ukraine does not tie the length of the tenancy to that date. The landlord and the tenant decide how long the contract lasts. Do you have doubts about a specific situation? Discuss them with a lawyer.
No. The amendment does not impose any new obligations on the landlord concerning the content of the lease. Up-to-date tenant details and a valid identity document are enough, just as with any other tenant.
