Changing or handing over your apartment

Changing apartments

Your life situation or needs may change during your residency. We aim to secure the continuity of your residency in these situations as well. When you have lived in your current apartment for a minimum of one year, you can apply to change to a different apartment.

Those seeking to change aparment must fill in the normal apartment application form. It is a precondition for a potential offer of a apartment that the applicant has managed the responsibilities of their current tenancy impeccably. Financial limits also apply to those seeking to change apartments.

When applying for a new apartment, you should bear in mind that the deposit for the previous apartment cannot be transferred to the new one. It is also wise to prepare for overlapping rent payments. Detailed instructions on how to cancel a tenancy agreement and sign a new one, as well as how to pay the deposit, will be provided alongside the offer of a new apartment.

We will contact you by telephone, e-mail or letter when a suitable apartment becomes available. Please submit your response by the agreed deadline. Otherwise, the apartment will be offered to the next applicant.

Handing over your apartment on a temporary basis

Handing over an apartment on a temporary basis is a situation in which the tenant lets their entire apartment to another private person. VAV tenants can hand over their apartment on a temporary basis only if they have to move elsewhere temporarily because of work, studies, illness or for some other, similar reason.

An apartment can be handed over on a temporary basis for two years at a maximum, and VAV must be notified of this in writing. In addition to such notification, the tenant must provide VAV with a work or study certificate or proof of some other reason for needing to move to another location. If necessary, you can request the relevant form from VAV’s customer service, or download it from the form bank [LINKKI].

The original tenant of the apartment will continue to be liable for all tenancy obligations during the temporary handover. For example, if rent is not paid during the temporary handover, the back rent will be collected from the original tenant, not the temporary tenant. If a sublease has been agreed for the apartment for the duration of the temporary handover, the original tenant may not ask the lodger to pay a higher rent than the original rent stated by VAV.

It is forbidden to hand over a VAV apartment for commercial use via Airbnb or a similar service.

Unauthorised subletting

Unauthorised subletting refers to a situation where the tenant does not live in the apartment, but has sublet it to another person without authorisation. Subletting is unauthorised, if it is not done for the above-mentioned reasons (work, studies, illness or similar) and VAV has not been notified of it. Even if the original tenant has signed a sublease with the new occupant, the sublet must be regarded as unauthorised if it does not meet the aforementioned terms and conditions.

If VAV deems the tenant to have handed over the apartment without authorisation, VAV shall have the right to cancel the tenancy. In such a case, the temporary occupant living in the apartment must also move out. The original tenant shall be liable for any potential back rent.