Renting out your own apartment can be as much of a headache as it is a profit. Associate Professor of the Russian University of Economics G.V. Plekhanova Margarita Naslednikova told the Realty Times about what is important to pay attention to when concluding a lease agreement so that it is profitable?
According to the specialist, according to paragraph 2 of Art. 651 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of January 26, 1996 No. 14-FZ, lease agreements concluded for a period of more than one year from the date of such registration are subject to mandatory state registration with Rosreestr. To avoid registration, a lease agreement is concluded for 11 months, and then a new agreement is renegotiated, but for the tenant, the conclusion of a new agreement deprives the tenant of the right to depreciate inseparable improvements to the leased property, since, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 258 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation “depreciation is permissible only during the period of validity of the lease agreement during which the tenant performed the work.” In this case, it is necessary to prolong the previous lease agreement or renew it for an indefinite period.
– Tenants are less likely to, but face another problem that arises from the improvement of the leased property (fire alarm, air conditioning, ventilation, etc.), which is inseparable from the leased property, is the owner’s consent to such work, so that, in the future, there were problems with the recognition of the accrued depreciation of these objects. To avoid possible problems, include in the contract the obligation of the landlord to provide consent or refusal at your request within a certain period of time, the expert notes.
Also, according to paragraph 2 of Art. 616 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of January 26, 1996 No. 14-FZ “the tenant is obliged to maintain the property in good condition, carry out current repairs at his own expense and bear the costs of maintaining the property”, while the obligation to make major repairs lies with the lessor (paragraph 1 of article 616 Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Provided that the tenant carries out a major overhaul not specified in the contract, the tax authority has grounds to deduct the accounted expenses from the tenant. To avoid such a situation in the contract, it is necessary to specify in detail the obligations of the parties for the repair.
In addition, according to sub. 1 p. 1 art. 167 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part Two) dated 05.08.2000 No. 117-FZ, rent refers to continuing services, while the VAT base is determined on the last day of the month, and an earlier date will cause problems when offsetting VAT amounts. In this regard, it is necessary to indicate in the lease agreement the date of submission of the invoice that meets the requirements of the law, indicating the responsibility for failure to comply with the norm of the agreement.
– One of the most common problems in the formation of rent is the reimbursement of input VAT on utilities, the cost of which is compensated by the tenant, since the landlord is not a resource supply organization and does not have the right to issue invoices. To avoid possible problems, it is necessary to conclude an agreement indicating the variable part of the rent, equal to the cost of utilities, Naslednikova specified.
According to paragraph 1 of Art. 655 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of January 26, 1996 No. 14-FZ “the transfer of a building or structure by the lessor and its acceptance by the tenant is carried out according to the transfer act”, in practice the formation of this document is often abolished, but it is worth noting that the liability under the lease agreement arises from the parties precisely after signing act.
Also, you should not treat the signing of the document formally, without checking the suitability for operation of the leased property, since in this case it is not authorized to require the landlord to eliminate the shortcomings. But you can also check the object without his participation. To this end, the contract should indicate a sufficient period to check the performance of the leased property after signing the lease.
Message Expert told what to consider in an apartment lease appeared first on the Realty Times.
