Lease and leasing disputes

What is happening

A tenant moves out early, the landlord refuses to take the premises back, keeps charging rent and holds the security deposit against 'damage'. Nobody has signed a return certificate.

A lessee fell behind, the leasing company terminated the contract and repossessed the equipment even though more than half of the payments had been made. Now it is selling the asset cheaply and demanding more money.

For several years the landlord has indexed the rent on its own reading of the contract, and the tenant has paid under protest. The difference has become significant, and the parties read the same clause differently.

What the law says

• Leases are governed by Chapter 34 of the Civil Code; leases of buildings and structures have special rules, including on written form and handover by certificate.
• A lease of real estate for a term of one year or more must be state-registered (Civil Code); the registration procedure is set by Federal Law No. 218-FZ of 13 July 2015 "On State Registration of Real Estate".
• A finance lease is a type of lease under the Civil Code; the law on finance leasing also applies.
• The tenant must pay until the property is returned; if the landlord avoids taking it back, the court treats this as the creditor's delay, and charges for that period can be contested.
• When a finance lease is terminated and the asset repossessed, the net balance of mutual obligations is calculated: what the lessor has received is compared with what it is entitled to. This approach was developed by the higher courts and is consistently applied in practice.
• The value of the repossessed asset in that calculation is its sale price or appraised value; an undervalued sale is a frequent point of dispute.

What we do

• We analyse the contract and its performance: payments, indexation, early termination and return provisions.
• We prepare termination notices and return certificates and arrange a record of the condition of the premises or equipment, to rule out a later dispute about it.
• We calculate arrears, penalties, unjust enrichment and the net balance under a finance lease.
• We test whether the sale price of the repossessed asset is justified and commission a valuation where needed.
• We recover the security deposit or contest its retention.
• We represent the company in the commercial court in claims for payment, vacant possession and return of leased assets.

What we will need from you

• The lease or finance lease with annexes, payment schedules and supplementary agreements.
• Handover and return certificates, photos and video of the property's condition.
• Payment records and the reconciliation statement.
• Termination notices, claim letters and correspondence.
• For finance leases: any documents you hold on repossession and sale of the asset.