How to draw up a rental agreement for housing in Armenia?

Before proceeding to a detailed description of the rental agreement, we suggest understanding the terminology. The contract under which you rent an apartment is called a “rental agreement”. However, in colloquial speech, you can hear “rental agreement”, “lease agreement”, “apartment rental agreement”.

According to Armenian legislation, a residential lease agreement becomes valid only after:

• notarization;
• registration in the local territorial subdivision of the State Committee of Real Estate Cadastre

Practice

In practice, 95% apartments are rented out without being registered with the Cadastre Committee. Because landlords don't want to pay rent taxes.

The Cadastre Committee website has contract constructorincluding tenancy agreements. Although the site is also available in Russian, you can only fill out the contract in Armenian.

Therefore, on its basis, we have prepared a version in Russian and Armenian.
Residential lease agreement

First of all, I would like to note: the more detailed the conditions are, the less likely there are misunderstandings and conflict situations.

1. Parties to the agreement - full names, passport details and registration addresses of the parties.
2. Subject of the contract - the name of the object (apartment, house, room), cadastral number, address, area, as well as the number of the certificate of state registration of the right to the Landlord (only this document is proof of ownership of the dwelling. Be careful and ask for the original).
3. Detailed description of the premises - number of rooms state of repair, availability of furniture, appliances, their condition.
4. Terms of the contract - if the contract does not contain the period for which you rent housing, the contract is concluded for an indefinite period. If the deadlines are specified, we recommend that you specify the possibility and conditions for its extension. For example, you can provide a condition: if after the expiration of the contract, neither you nor the landlord has expressed a desire to terminate the contractual relationship, then it is considered that the contract is automatically extended for the same period. In this case, it is not necessary to conclude either an additional agreement or a new contract.
5. Payment: terms, amount, form - clearly stipulate the amount of hire and payment terms (for example, before the 10th day of each month). As for the form of payment, there are 2 options: cash directly to the renter / transfer to a bank card. In the case of cash payment, it is necessary to provide a receipt form that confirms the payment made on a monthly basis. In the case of non-cash payment, indicate the account details in the contract (then the confirmation of payment will be a check on the bank transaction).

Important

Transactions over AMD 300,000 can only be legally paid by bank transfer

6. Payment of utilities, internet These conditions are often negotiated orally. To avoid misunderstandings, we recommend defining in the contract which of the parties will pay for utilities, Internet and other services and in what form. There are 2 options: the tenant pays personally or monthly transfers the amount to the owner of the housing to pay utility bills.
7. Counter indicators - fix in the contract the indicator of meters for utilities. It is important to provide for this item if you pay for housing and communal services not independently, but through the owner.
8. Deposit is one of the most important points. What to pay attention to? The contract must indicate the fact of payment of the deposit, its amount, the conditions for its return or, conversely, the deduction by the landlord.
9. No collateral - in order not to be suddenly evicted from housing, make sure that the property is not pledged (for example, from a bank), there are no other encumbrances from other persons (for example, housing has already been rented out to other tenants). To protect yourself from such a situation, write in the contract the assurance of the landlord about the absence of collateral and encumbrances.

• Check that the landlord has the original certificate of state registration of ownership of the property. Please note: the contract under which the owner acquired the property is not proof of ownership. First, the contract can be fake. Secondly, the landlord may be an irrelevant owner. Check out fraud schemes link
• If there is something in the contract that you don't understand, ask for it to be changed. Don't explain, just change. Clauses of the contract cannot have an ambiguous interpretation.
• Only an agreement drawn up in the Armenian language has legal force. If you do not speak the language, you can use online translation services. However, please note that such a technical translation may not be correct. For your peace of mind, the contract can be bilingual, some real estate agencies provide such a service.
• Be careful when signing any documents. In order not to fall for scammers, we recommend contacting lawyers Move2Armenia Business.
• Why it is important to prepare a correct certified lease agreement is evidenced by the fact that they are required in Armenian banks when opening an account by non-residents. By condition:

Acba Bank - lease agreement from 6 months;
Ameriabank – contract only for legal entities (terms not specified);
Ararat bank - terms are not specified;
Ardshinbank - contract from 4 months;
Armbusinessbank - from 6 months;
ID Bank - requirements are optional, but when opening online, it is advisable to attach (no deadlines are specified);
Inecobank – from 6 months.