Are families with children troublesome tenants?

Most flat owners have reservations about letting a property to a family with children. It is true that such tenants can be problematic, but this is not always the case. You may just as well come across troublesome students. As always before concluding any agreement, not only a tenancy agreement, it is worth getting to know your rights and obligations and protecting yourself appropriately. Then letting a flat even to a family with children should not cause us any problems.

Reluctance to let flats to families with children often stems from a fear that the children will wreck the property. There are also doubts about what happens when the tenants stop paying rent. Polish law protects them against eviction, guaranteeing the provision of replacement accommodation, which can take years to find, and in the meantime the tenants continue to occupy the landlord's flat.

These arguments can be discouraging. But do students not threaten the condition of our property just as much by organising parties and bringing in strangers? We therefore cannot assume that a family with children will always be a troublesome tenant. In many cases it is quite the opposite.

Besides, that is what a tenancy agreement is for: to settle any grey areas and protect you against unpleasant situations.

What does Polish law say?

Before you decide to let a flat to a family with children, or reject such tenants altogether, find out how Polish law regulates this matter.

First, you need to know when you can terminate the agreement. There are three such situations: when the tenant uses the premises contrary to their purpose, when they disturb the peace of the home, or when they are at least 3 months behind with rent. There are no exceptions to this rule, and families with children are not treated more leniently either.

The situation changes, however, when the tenants do not want to move out even though the agreement has been terminated. And here, unfortunately for landlords, families with children receive additional protection from the state. They cannot be thrown out of the flat despite being in arrears with rent. It is necessary to find them replacement accommodation, which in practice can take years.

This argument effectively deters flat owners from letting to families with children. There is, however, a way to protect yourself against tenants who refuse to leave. How? With an occasional tenancy agreement (umowa najmu okazjonalnego).

The occasional tenancy agreement – protection for the owner

The occasional tenancy agreement is an excellent solution from the point of view of owners of flats to let. It contains a provision stating where the current tenants will move to when the agreement expires or is terminated. If they fail to do so, the landlord goes to court with the agreement to obtain an enforcement clause. Once this happens, the case goes to a bailiff, who carries out the judgment. There is therefore no risk that the tenants will take over the property.

It is worth drawing up the occasional tenancy agreement with the help of a notary, so that we can be sure that everything it contains is legal and valid.

It is also worth stressing that the occasional tenancy agreement is in itself an excellent filter for problematic tenants, and these need not be only families with children. When someone refuses to sign a document drafted in this way, one can guess that their stay in our flat may cause us problems.