Extending a Lease: Annex, New Agreement or Silence
The safest way to extend a fixed-term lease is an annex signed before the lease ends. A new agreement makes sense when you are changing a lot of terms at once. And silence, when the tenant simply stays on? It usually ends up as a lease for an indefinite period. Two months left on the lease, a tenant who pays on time and looks after the flat, and you want to keep the deposit and the other safeguards? Relax, you have enough time to pick the right route. Below I compare the three options and lay out what to do in the last weeks of the lease.
What happens when a fixed-term lease ends?
It expires when the term runs out. Unless the parties extend it or the tenant keeps using the property with the landlord’s consent. In practice there are three scenarios: an annex to the current lease, a completely new agreement, or an implied extension that follows from how the parties behave. It is better to decide before the last day of the lease. After that things get murky (what exactly binds you now?), and the law may settle the matter for you.
Lease annex: when it is enough and what to include
An annex changes only the end date and, if needed, selected terms. The rest of the lease stays in force, including the deposit. Sign it before the current term ends and in the same form as the lease, which usually means in writing. That way there is not a single day when the lease formally does not exist.
A proper annex includes:
- the new end date of the lease,
- the new rent amount, if the parties have agreed on one,
- a clause stating that all other terms and safeguards remain binding, including the deposit,
- the date and the signatures of all parties to the lease.
Do you have a guarantor? Ask them for written consent to the extension, because their obligation may have covered only the original term. If anything raises doubts, have a lawyer review the text. And if you are also thinking about a higher rent, first check the rules for raising rent on renewal.
A new agreement instead of an annex: when it is the better choice
When a lot of terms change, the parties change, or the old document has gaps you cannot sensibly patch with an annex. Then go for a new agreement. There is a catch, though: it is easy to break the continuity of your safeguards. The deposit has to be carried over explicitly in the new agreement, for example with a clause saying the amount paid earlier also secures the new lease, or set up again from scratch. The same goes for the guarantee. And the handover report: prepare a new one or refer to the existing one, so nobody argues at move-out about which condition of the flat wear and tear should be measured from.
Silence and continued use of the property after the lease ends
The tenant keeps using the property after the term ends, and you agree, even tacitly. In case of doubt, the lease is then deemed extended for an indefinite period. This is set out in Article 674 of the Polish Civil Code. And note: accepting rent without any reservation is usually enough to show that you agreed to the continued lease.
What does this change in practice? Quite a lot. From that moment either party can end the lease by giving notice. The tenant gains the freedom to leave, and you lose certainty about the end date. Ending the lease then means watching deadlines and form, and lease termination notice mistakes can drag the matter out for months.
Extending an occasional lease takes more formalities
An occasional lease is always concluded for a fixed term. That is why you extend it deliberately, not through silence. If the lease turns into one for an indefinite period, you may lose the very reason you chose this type in the first place, which is the simplified route to getting the property vacated. Before signing, check whether the tenant’s declaration of submission to enforcement and the consent of the owner of the alternative accommodation cover the new term. They often need to be renewed. This involves a notarial deed and detailed provisions of the Tenants’ Rights Protection Act, so in my view you should discuss every step with a lawyer or a notary. It is not worth the risk.
Extending a lease: comparing the three routes
For a landlord who wants to keep the safeguards in place, an annex is usually the simplest, a new agreement the most flexible, and silence the least predictable. The differences show up in four areas:
- Formalities: an annex is a short document, a new agreement needs the full text and a handover report, silence needs nothing, but it also documents nothing.
- Deposit and guarantee: with an annex they stay in force, with a new agreement they have to be carried over, with silence the deposit stays, but the fate of the guarantee can be uncertain.
- Rent change: an annex and a new agreement let you set a new rate right away, silence keeps the current one.
- Ending the lease in the future: an annex and a new agreement give a specific date, silence means giving notice.
Is it mainly the end date that changes? Annex. Changing almost everything? New agreement. Rely on silence only if a lease for an indefinite period genuinely suits you.
Timeline of steps before the lease ends
I recommend starting about two months before the lease ends. That gives you time for the conversation, the document and the signing, without a last-week rush. An order that works:
- Review the lease and the safeguards: the deposit, the guarantee, and for an occasional lease, the notarial declarations.
- Talk to the tenant about continuing the lease, the term and any rent change.
- Decide on the form: an annex or a new agreement.
- Prepare the document, and for more complex changes, get a lawyer to help.
- Sign it before the current term ends.
- Keep the annex together with the lease, so both documents are at hand.
In Tenanto, the lease end alert reminds you of the approaching date, the lease gets the “ending” status, and you can save the signed annex in the property’s documents.
In short: a lease extension planned ahead and put down in an annex protects the deposit, the guarantee and the predictability of the lease. And it saves you arguments about which agreement actually applies. Want to sort out other rental matters? Take a look at our lease agreement guides.
Frequently asked questions
Not in a simple, automatic way. It is extended only when the tenant keeps using the property with the landlord’s consent, including consent shown by conduct alone. The lease then runs for an indefinite period and can be ended by giving notice.
No, as long as the annex confirms that the existing safeguards remain in force. The deposit stays with the landlord and secures the whole extended period. It is best to state this explicitly in the annex. Fewer disputes at settlement.
Yes. If both parties agree, you put the new rate in the annex together with the date it applies from. The tenant does not agree, or you are unsure about the rules for rent increases? Consult a lawyer.
