If you have this question, our first answer is a counter-question; did we conclude this for you, or is it your own conclusion? If it is your own conclusion, we advise you to share the contract first to get it checked. Indeed, indefinite term is “the norm,” and a contract is only temporary if it has all the terms in it (and does not contradict each other). We get many contracts from tenants who think they are temporary, but are actually indefinite. The worry will then have been for nothing and more importantly; some people have waited because of this and are already too late to be able to downgrade when they share it with us. We see the following reasons of the erroneous perceptions:
- The contract is incorrect and therefore indefinite instead of temporary
- Neither is the landlord aware of this, it has made one or more mistakes.
- The landlord is well aware of this; the landlord has written it this way on purpose so that tenants will delay their reduction until they are late. It is a cunning way to overcharge for rent and get away with it.
- The contract is properly drafted though and has a meaning other than temporary duration. For example, contracts with a minimum duration (usually 12 months) also indicate that they run until (and including) a certain date. As a result, many tenants think that the contract ends after that, but it actually says that they are not allowed to cancel until (and including) that date themselves. Those very contracts protect the landlord from rapid changeover and having to keep finding new tenants.
If you really have a temporary contract, your landlord may decide not to renew it when it expires. It is worth remembering that this is usually the case because the tenant gains more rights when a temporary contract is not terminated. The tenant may then live there as long as he/she wants. This has disadvantages for the landlord; less certainty about the rental term, no new rent increase when it is convenient, and because the market for properties with permanent tenants in them is smaller, the property can be sold for less money. Even most landlords who say they want to extend come back to it, because they continue to feel these disadvantages as much as when they initially decided to give you a temporary contract.
Should you still hope that your contract will be renewed, the reduction can indeed reduce that chance. Fortunately, because temporary contracts make tenants vulnerable, the government did decide that tenants on temporary contracts will be allowed to downgrade until 6 months after the contract expires, instead of 6 months after the start of the contract. So you may then decide to defer your reduction until after the contract expires. That choice is entirely up to you to make, here’s another list of the disadvantages of delaying the cut so you have all the information at your disposal:
- The hundreds of dollars that you could save right now to do fun things from or put away safely will continue to be paid in advance for now. So you won’t be able to enjoy it now, and depending on inflation, you may be able to enjoy it less by then.
- Especially with a 2-year temporary contract and a substantially excessive rent, you do magnify the blow to your landlord. Who will not expect the reduction (anymore) and then suddenly has to pay back (tens of) thousands of euros. It sounds crazy, but it’s usually better for the landlord to lower directly, and we thereby increase the chances of coming out together without needing a Rent Commission appointment.
- Laws can also change and although tenants are well protected, there is now no way to guarantee with 100 percent certainty that your property can still reduce (as much) after the temporary contract expires and that retroactivity will continue to apply to you. If you downgrade now in the current valuation system and pay the appropriate price, then no one can reclaim the retroactive extra rent in a subsequent change so you don’t run that risk.
