Renewal of the lease agreement in case of termination of the lease

The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic has recently dealt with a question of the renewal of the lease according to Section 2230 Subsection 1 of the Civil Code (decision of the Supreme Court dated 12.12.2016, Reference Number 26 Cdo 4354/2016).

The above mentioned provision of the Civil Code determines that in case, a lessee continues to use a thing after the expiry of the period of lease and the lessor fails to request, within one month, that the lessee deliver the thing to the lessor, the lease is conclusively presumed to have been renewed under the originally stipulated conditions.

In the opinion of the Supreme Court the lease can be renewed in accordance with Section 2230 Subsection 1 of the Civil Code (in case of the lease of a flat in accordance with Section 2285 of the Civil Code) only in the case, the lease was stipulated for a definite period and the lease terminated by the expiry of the period of lease.

In case the lease terminated in any other way (for example on the grounds of an agreement, a notice of termination – after the expiry of the notice period), the Section 2230 Subsection 1 (in case of the lease of a flat Section 2285) of the Civil Code will not apply, not even if the lessor will not request the returning of the thing in the stated period.