To many landlords, it concerns the period during which they give notice to their tenants in order to inform them about the modifications they want to bring to the lease.
Indeed, the lease of an apartment renews itself automatically at the end of its term, for the same length of time, at the same rental rate. Nevertheless, there is always an exception to the rule. Should the landlord desire to increase the rent, then he must do so with a written notice within the timeframe prescribed by the law.
For instance, for one-year leases terminating on the 30th of June 2009, the landlord must have given notice between the 1st of January 2009 and the 31st of March 2009.
Anyhow, the tenant has three options after receiving his notice from the landlord.
Firstly, he may accept the increase. In such a situation, the lease must be renewed and the tenant will pay the new rental rate from the 1st of July 2009 onwards.
Secondly, the tenant may refuse the increase. In such a case, the lease will be renewed, but the rental rate will have to be set later-on.
In last resort, the tenant may decide not to renew the lease, meaning that he will leave the apartment at the end of the lease.
It is, however, important to stress that the tenant must, in the last two instances, be under strict obligation to give the landlord notice within the month following reception of the notice. If not so, the lease will be automatically renewed.
Should the tenant refuse the increase, then the landlord can, within a month after reception of the refusal, submit a request to set the rent or to rule on the modifications demanded. However, if the landlord does not submit the request within the required timeframe, then the lease will be renewed at the same rental rate and on the same conditions.