The lawyer “armed” her client against the landlord’s illegal actions

Publication date: August 29, 2023

“Is it legal for the landlord to raise my rent by 2,000 UAH?” This was the first question that a resident of the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast addressed to the NGO “Triangle”.

As it became clear from further dialogue, Tetiana* has been living in an apartment for over a year, which she rents for 8 thousand hryvnias per month. In addition, she pays utility bills separately according to the meter indicators.

According to the woman, she does not have a lease agreement but transferred the money to the landlord’s bank card. Now the owner of the apartment demands that she pay 2 thousand hryvnias more every month. At the same time, he threatens to call the police and forcibly evict her if she does not agree to his terms.

– Tetiana said that she wanted to appeal to the tax office with a complaint about the unwillingness of the landlord to enter into a lease agreement and concealment of income in order to avoid taxation. At the same time, she emphasized that she insisted on concluding the contract as soon as she started renting the apartment, since then she reminded the landlord about it several times, – explains the Triangle lawyer Inna Kolesnyk.

After studying the situation and consulting the client, the lawyer prepared a template of a lease agreement for both contracting parties, which contains detailed living conditions, the amount of payments and other real terms of the lease, eviction conditions and notice periods, conditions for the return or non-return of advance payments.

• We also explained to Tetiana the algorithm of actions in case the landlord does call the police, and where the woman can go if he uses threats or other influence. We also suggested that she sign a contract with a lawyer to accompany this case, if it becomes necessary to file an appeal with the police or the court on her behalf and in the interests of the client, – adds Inna Kolesnyk.

Now, knowing her rights and legal algorithms, the woman, with the support of lawyers, will be able to resolve the situation with the landlord depending on which of the scenarios will develop during their further communication.

*Name has been changed for ethical reasons.

The material was created with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network.

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