The protocol links the apartment to a specific date
Protokół zdawczo-odbiorczy is the handover report. The Law on the Protection of the Rights of Tenants provides for the drawing up of a protocol on the technical condition and wear and tear before handover; it serves as the basis for calculations on return. Prepare it together with the contract, not a week after entering.
Specify the address, parties, date and list of premises. If the landlord uses his form with a single line "all right", add an appendix. Agreements that the owner will later repair the washing machine or replace the lock, write separately with the agreed deadline.
Go around the apartment in sequence
- Doors, windows and locks: open, close, whether there are keys.
- Walls, floor, ceiling: stains, cracks, traces of moisture.
- Kitchen: furniture, stove, refrigerator and agreed appliances.
- Bathroom: leaks, plumbing, ventilation grilles without covering them.
- Furniture and equipment: quantity and noticeable damage.
- Keys, key rings, gate control: exact number of copies handed over.
The counter is not just a number
For electricity, gas and water, note the instrument number, unit of measurement, reading and date. Take a picture of the whole device so that the number can be seen, then the screen is zoomed in. If there are several tariff registers, overwrite the values of each one, without accepting the technical code of the display for the kilowatt-hours consumed.
Ask in whose name the contract of supply: the owner or the future landlord. If a rearrangement is required, obtain a handover form from the specific supplier and agree on a date. The act with the owner does not always automatically change the contract in the company-supplier.
How to read the next bill
Separate consumption and advance. Prognoza means calculated prepayment, and rozliczenie – recalculation based on data for the period. Compare the dates of your arrival, start and end readings with the protocol. Do not take the amount as a "monthly rate" if it includes the debt of the former tenant.
Example of your check: the record is 12 340 kWh, but the bill starts at 12 100 kWh. Send the owner or supplier a photo and a document asking for the initial value. Do not change the history of readings yourself and do not calculate the result only by multiplying the difference by the price from the ad: there are other components of the tariff.
When leaving, repeat the same procedure
Take the readings and the state before the handover of keys, attach photos to the signed act. Write down the way of final settlement and contact after departure. Keep a copy of both signatures and attachments sent.
If the owner has not shown up, propose in writing a new date or an agreed way of delivery. Do not leave the keys in an unknown place, believing that this proved the return of the apartment. If you have found a disputed damage, describe it separately: the signed act can record the disagreement, not only the agreement with all the demands.
