A legal guide for internally displaced persons (IDPs) explains that they can receive a rent subsidy, but the lease must be drawn up so as to confirm the lessor’s authority. Questions arise when an apartment is owned by several co-owners and only one person acts as the lessor.
Can one of the co-owners rent the apartment out on their own
If each owner holds a defined share (for example 1/2 or 1/3), this is joint partial ownership and, under Article 358 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (CCU), co-owners must act by mutual consent. Ownership of a share alone does not give the right to unilaterally lease the entire apartment.
If shares are not defined, the property is in joint undivided ownership (that is, without division into shares). Under Article 369 of the CCU it must be disposed of with the consent of all co-owners, unless otherwise provided by law. The law establishes a presumption of consent: when a transaction is concluded by one of the co-owners, as a general rule it is considered that the others agreed, or they may authorise one person to act.
How to confirm co-owners’ consent when applying for the subsidy
The Pension Fund, when processing a subsidy, may check whether the lessor had the authority to lease the apartment. Various written forms of consent signed by the co-owners are acceptable to confirm the arrangements.
To confirm consent you can prepare a joint written statement by the co-owners, separate statements, or include an appropriate clause in the contract or an annex. The document must state the apartment address, who agrees to its rental, to whom the accommodation is being transferred, who acts as the lessor, the term and the rent. The document must be signed by the co-owners.
- address of the apartment;
- who agrees to its rental;
- to whom the accommodation is transferred;
- who acts as the lessor;
- term and rent.
If one of the co-owners signs documents on behalf of the others, their authority must be confirmed — for example, by a power of attorney. A power of attorney is a document that gives the right to act on behalf of another person.
What to do if the contract has already been signed with one owner
If the tenant has already concluded a contract with only one of the co-owners, before applying for a subsidy it is necessary to clarify on what basis that person signed the contract and whether they had the appropriate authority. A single signature in the contract does not by itself automatically render it invalid.
If the necessary authority is absent, the other co-owners may challenge the contract in court. Notarial certification of consent is not always required: under the second part of Article 369 of the CCU the requirement for notarial certification applies if the transaction itself is subject to notarial certification or state registration, so the form of consent is determined taking into account the type of ownership and the specific contract.
