When and how can the lease be terminated, and what obligations are connected to it? Read all about such situations in this article.
Can either party terminate the lease agreement contract before it is scheduled to end? (Cancellation policy)
Either contractual side can decide to terminate the lease agreement early for several reasons. Please note that there is a legal difference between withdrawing and terminating a lease. You can read more about how withdrawing works here.
Before the lease agreement starts
1. By the guest
If a guest can't or doesn't want to move in on the start date stated on the lease agreement, they can terminate the lease unilaterally without giving any reason by contacting our support team. In such cases, there is no notice period, and the termination is effective as soon as it's submitted (i.e., as soon as you're notified about the termination being created).
If a guest terminates the lease agreement this way, we handle the first rental payment according to the cancelation policy you have set for the specific listing.
a) Strict (30-day) cancellation policy
- If the guest notifies you of termination 30 or more days before the lease agreement starts, we will refund the whole first rent to the guest.
- If the guest notifies you 29 to 14 days before the lease agreement starts, the guest gets a refund of half of the first rent. The remaining half of the first rent will be sent to you.
- If the guest notifies you 13 days or less before the lease agreement starts, the guest is not entitled to any refund of the first rent. The full amount of the first rent will be sent to you.
b) Flexible (14-day) cancellation policy
- If the guest notifies you of termination 14 or more days before the lease agreement starts, we will refund the whole first rent to the guest.
- If the guest notifies you 13 to 7 days before the lease agreement starts, the guest gets a refund of half of the first rent. The remaining half of the first rent will be sent to you.
- If the guest notifies you 6 days or less before the lease agreement starts, the guest is not entitled to any refund of the first rent. The full amount of the first rent will be sent to you.
c) Friendly (7-day) cancellation policy
- If the guest notifies you of termination 7 or more days before the lease agreement starts, we will refund the whole first rent to the guest.
- If the guest notifies you 6 days to 48 hours before the lease agreement starts, the guest gets a refund of half of the first rent. The remaining half of the first rent will be sent to you.
- If the guest notifies you 47 hours or less before the lease agreement starts, the guest is not entitled to any refund of the first rent. The full amount of the first rent will be sent to you.
2. By the host
If, for any reason, you decide not to accommodate the guest on the date the lease agreement is supposed to start, you can unilaterally terminate the lease without giving a reason by contacting our support team in advance. Again, there is no notice period and the termination is effective at the moment of delivery of the notice (i.e., as soon as the guest is notified about the termination submission).
In these cases, the guest is always entitled to a full refund of the whole first rent.
Please remember that since these situations cause a lot of frustration to the guest and Flatio's help with providing backup accommodation is often needed, you may also face a penalty which is considered according to the following system (similar to the "Strict (30-day)" cancelation policy for guests):
- If the guest is notified about termination 30 days or more before the beginning of the lease agreement, you will not pay any contractual penalty.
- If the guest is notified about termination 29 to 14 days before the beginning of the lease agreement, you are required to pay the contractual penalty in the amount of 50% of the monthly rent to Flatio.
- If the guest is notified about termination 13 days or less before the beginning of the lease agreement, you are required to pay the contractual penalty in the amount of 100% of the monthly rent to Flatio.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This general cancellation policy applies to all hosts, no matter which cancelation policy they've set for their listing. The flexible or friendly cancellation policies are applicable only for terminations from the guest's side. |
After the lease agreement starts
It's also possible to terminate the lease agreement after it has begun (i.e., in most cases, after the guest has moved in). The reasons and circumstances when this may occur can always be found in the lease agreement.
There are 4 possible termination types:
- Termination by the guest, with a 30-day notice period, that can be submitted from the guest's or your Flatio account,
- Termination by the host, with a 30-day notice period, that can be submitted only by you via your Flatio account,
- Termination by mutual agreement, applicable when both you and the guest agree on a new end date, that can be submitted only by you via your Flatio account and then needs to be electronically signed by the guest,
- Termination for gross violation, which can be submitted by you only when a rental payment is 7 or more days after its due date, or by Flatio when informed of another breach of the lease.
To see how to correctly submit a termination after the beginning of the lease and what obligations are connected to each termination type, please visit this article which includes a complete guide on these situations.