It seems that the tenancy laws in EU Member States are as different as the countries themselves. In England, for example, it is quite usual to sign a rental contract for a term as short as 6 months: Whether it will be extended is at the complete discretion of the lessor. In Eastern Europe, people tend to take no notice of the legal provisions surrounding tenancy and most rental agreements are made “on the quiet”. And in Sweden it is not uncommon for enormous sums of up to 100,000 euros to be paid as so-called “key-money” for especially favorable existing lease contracts. These are some of the results of a study carried out be the Center for European Legal Policy at the University of Bremen. Over the past five years the Bremen Center led a consortium named “Tenlaw” (Tenancy Law and Housing Policy in multi-level Europe) that looked into housing policy and tenancy law in all EU Member States. The consortium comprised research institutions in England, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, and Estonia. The non-EU countries Turkey, Japan and Norway were also covered. The large-scale project was financed by the European Commission in the frame of the 7th Framework Program for Research and Development.
Markets for housing “almost like the Wild-West”
Despite the fact that almost one third of all European citizens are existentially affected by national tenancy laws, there has never been such a comparative study from a European perspective. The findings are particularly attention-grabbing for Germany, where a good half of the total population lives in rented accommodation. “We have compiled the very first European atlas of national tenancy laws”, explains Professor Christoph Schmid from Center for European Legal Policy. “And the findings are truly striking. When it comes to tenants’ rights, every country has its own rules and practices – some legal, others not. On many housing markets, it’s almost like the Wild West “.
A booming black market in Eastern Europe
Generally speaking, the national tenancy laws in Europe depend strongly on politics and pursue a variety of different objectives: Neoliberal conditions with negligible tenancy protection exist alongside strongly social-interventionist regimes in which a tenant almost enjoys the status of owner. The overall picture is complicated by the growing influence of European frame requirements on national tenancy laws. Schmid goes on to explain. “In several Eastern European countries, the black market for housing has reached alarming proportions. You can hardly do anything without bribery and knowing the right people. Here in Germany, though, despite some current conflicts like rent capping, the rules and regulations are relatively well-balanced and disputes are settled along legal lines. In the frame of tenancy law, Germany has more court cases than all the other European countries put together.”
In face of major differences in the economic and social conditions across the EU, the study concludes it would be neither desirable nor realistic to attempt to harmonize tenancy law. Rather, the researchers recommend the EU to promote national examples of best practice that aim at achieving a regulatory balance between tenant and lessor, at the same time taking the public interest into account.
Country reports accessible online
The project findings are documented in English in 32 country reports and 12 comparative reports, all of whichcan be accessed free of charge on the project homepage under www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de. Non-lawyers might prefer to read the practical guide on tenancy laws in all EU countries titled “My rights as tenant in the EU”.
In an evaluation of the extent of social impact published by the EU Commission, “Tenlaw” ranked at the top of social science projects supported under the 6th and 7th EU Framework Programs. At the initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, “Tenlaw” was recently presented as the German contribution to the United Nations Habitat III Conference held in Quito, Ecuador.
For more information, feel free to contact:
University of Bremen
Faculty of Law
Center for European Legal Policy (ZERP)
Prof.Dr. Christoph U. Schmid, Ph.D.
Phone: +49 421 218-66200
email: cschmidprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
