A lease is a contract that binds two or more parties to the terms of the agreement. Sometimes, after signing a rental agreement or lease, a tenant may need to leave the rental property early for various reasons. Similarly, the landlord may terminate the lease in certain circumstances. It is important to follow the laws of the State of Senegal, as well as the lease specifications, when providing a notice of intent to terminate a lease.
Termination of the lease by the tenant
As a lease is a contract, tenants are bound by the duration of the lease. This means they are responsible for paying the rent for the duration of the lease. Exceptions to this rule exist, in particular if the landlord breaks or breaches the lease. Before terminating a lease, tenants should be aware of which of these two scenarios their lease falls into.
-The first concerns fixed-term leases. They generally have a tacit renewal date at the end of the period specified in the agreement. To terminate the contract, the tenant must give notice to the landlord by bailiff at least 6 months before the expiry of the three-year term.
-With regard to a rental contract for an indefinite period, the contract can be terminated by giving two months' notice to the owner of the premises by means of a bailiff's bill.
If a landlord breaches the terms of the lease, particularly health and safety codes, the tenant may be able to move out without notice, or with less notice than is generally required. Legally, this is called "implied eviction", meaning that since the rental premises are unlivable, the tenant is effectively evicted from the property. This can also be the case if a natural disaster, or major damage to the rental property, prevents the tenant from remaining in the rental property. If the tenant breaks a lease without a legally protected reason, the landlord can sue for damages.
Owner's obligation to limit damage
The landlord has an obligation to mitigate or make reasonable efforts to re-let the rental property after a tenant has broken the lease. Generally, reasonable efforts are what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances. It would probably be unreasonable, for example, for a landlord to leave the property unoccupied for three years and then sue the former tenant for rent during that time.
The obligation to mitigate can be a trying one for the landlord, since the disadvantage of re-letting arises from the tenant's decision to terminate the lease prematurely. In the landlord's favor, the actual costs of advertising the unit can be charged to the departing tenant. And some leases include termination fees, or a specific forfeiture of the tenant's security deposit in the event of lease breakage.
Problems with the security deposit
Generally, landlords have two weeks to a month to return a tenant's security deposit once the tenant has vacated the rental premises. Landlords may deduct from the tenant's security deposit for valid reasons and using the appropriate method. Deductions must be in writing and itemized, and payment must be returned for any remaining deposit. It is important to follow up with the landlord if deductions seem inappropriate. All agreements must be documented in writing.
Termination of the lease by the landlord
As stipulated in article 574 of the Code des Obligations Civiles et Commerciales, the individual lessor may refuse to renew the lease. fixed-term lease in 2 cases:
Case 1: When he decides to take over the premises to live in them himself or to have them lived in by his spouse, his ascendants, his direct descendants or those of his spouse.
Case 2: When he decides to take over the premises, he demolishes and rebuilds them.
In each case, the lessor is required to notify the lessee of the refusal to renew, on pain of nullity, six months before the expiry of the 3-year period.
What must the notice of refusal to renew a fixed-term contract contain to be valid?
In the event that the lessor decides to occupy the premises himself or to have them occupied by his spouse, his ascendants, his direct descendants or those of his spouse, the notice given to the lessee must include 4 elements:
- The full identity of the person to whom the right of repossession is being exercised.
- Relationship to the lessor
- Current address
- Reproducing the provisions of article 583 in their entirety, the article states that the owner who notifies his intention to repossess for personal occupation in application of the provisions of articles 574 and 576 must install the designated beneficiary in the premises within three months of the day on which the tenant is evicted. The beneficiary of the right of repossession is also required to actually live in the vacated premises for two consecutive years from the date of occupancy.
If the lessor decides to take back the premises in order to demolish and rebuild them, the notice given to the lessee must include 5 elements:
- The nature and description of the work planned
- The full reference of the building permit
- The name of the architect, if any, and the name of the company supervising and carrying out the work
- The lessor's undertaking not to have the premises occupied in any capacity whatsoever, except for site security, from the time the lessee is evicted until the rebuilt building is handed over.
- Full reproduction of article 583. The excerpt from this article shows that the owner who signifies his intention to repossess the premises in order to demolish and rebuild them must begin the work within three months of the date of the tenant's eviction, and may not have the premises occupied in any capacity whatsoever, except for site security, until the rebuilt building has been accepted.
Visit Senegal an owner can legally evicting a tenant if the lessee breaches the terms of the lease or has broken the law. The violation by the lessee must be significant, such as late payment of rent, or use of the leased property other than that for which it was intended (article 554 of the French Code of Civil and Commercial Obligations). Violations of the law, such as selling drugs on the premises, are grounds for termination of the lease by the landlord. The landlord must first send a notice of termination to the tenant, clearly stating that the lease has been terminated. The terms of the notice vary according to the laws in place in Senegal, as do the requirements for delivery of the notice. The tenant may be given time to remedy the breach, by paying the unpaid rent. Or the notice may state that the tenant must leave the premises or face eviction. A landlord may bring an eviction action against a tenant who remains in the rental property after receiving a notice of termination. An eviction is a court-ordered eviction of the tenant. The landlord usually files a complaint with the court, the tenant is given time to respond, and if the landlord prevails in court, he regains possession of the property.