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Irrevocable lease: What are the rules?

Irrevocable lease: What are the rules?

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Louise Song

  • Published on 14. November 2020
  • Last updated on 7. July 2022

Most often, leases are terminable, but some are actually non-revocable for various reasons. When can a lease be irrevocable and if it is the case – don’t you have the opportunity to terminate? We will teach you the rules about an irrevocable lease!  

The basis about leases

Most leases can be terminated according to the rules of the rent act. Therefore you basically always have the right to terminate your tenancy if you want to move out. Your landlord must have a very compelling reason to be able to terminate your lease.

What is an irrevocable lease?

An irrevocable lease is an agreement between the landlord and the tenant that the tenancy cannot be terminated for a defined period.

In other words, if irrevocability has been agreed for 12 months, the lease cannot be terminated during the first 12 months of the lease. The lease will automatically terminate after 12 months if it is dated for 12 months.

If the rental period continues after the irrevocability period is over, the tenancy will continue. The lease can be terminated if the parties have not agreed on its termination in the lease. The normal termination rules in the rent act apply. In that case you have a notice period of three months.

You may also like: 10 things to be aware of when moving in a new apartment in Denmark 

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When can a lease be irrevocable?

Leases can legally be made irrevocable by a landlord. The terms, however, must be reasonable. If they are not, you can object. 

Temporary leases are often irrevocable because it’s the starting point in the rent act. A lease can be temporary subleased for a period for instance because the sublessor wants to go on a stay abroad. 
 
It’s not necessary for the sublease to be irrevocable. Termination can also be handled according to the normal rules. 
 
So what is the difference between a temporary lease and an irrevocable lease? A temporary lease typically ends when the agreed period is over. An irrevocable lease continues after the irrevocable period. 

Are you bound in the lease if it is irrevocable?

If the lease is irrevocable, it cannot be canceled during the irrevocability period. As irrevocability cannot be agreed to for a very long period of time, the irrevocability period will end by itself.
 
The lease can be terminated if either the landlord or the tenant violate it. Unless the landlord maintains the tenancy, you don’t have to be bound to the lease as a tenant. A landlord don’t need to be bound to the lease either if you for instance don’t pay the rent on time. 
 
However, if a party breaches the lease, it may be terminated even though it was irrevocable. It is not the intention that you as a tenant / landlord should be bound by a lease if the other party e.g. does not perform necessary maintenance or pay its rent on time. In these cases, a non-cancellable lease can thus be terminated if the breach of the lease is significant enough.

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When can I terminate an irrevocable lease?

Okay, the headline seems a bit self-contradictory. 
 
If a lease is irrevocable for a small period, e.g. 12 months, you can’t end the lease in the first 12 months. If you have a three-month notice period, you can terminate the lease after 12 months. If you have an irrevocable period starting from 1st of May till 30th of April, you are able to terminate the lease the day after the last day you were bound. You can terminate your lease 1st of May. If you choose to, you have to move out 31st of August. It is because your notice period is three months plus the current month. Therefore, you will have to stay in the tenancy for at least 16 months.
 
A condition that the lease is irrevocable for 12 months can be quite burdensome for the tenant. Therefore, if you are not sure that you will be bound for a long time, you should strongly consider whether you should enter into an agreement on a irrevocable lease. Especially young people in the big cities are most often seen to have a tendency to move regularly. Unfortunately, it is also often young people who get caught up in these irrevocable leases.

Get legal advice and avoid being deceived

This topic can be very complicated as a tenant. The above is to be seen as a general guidance and not as downright legal advice. We always recommend that you contact us to ensure that you get the proper necessary legal advice that is relevant for your specific case.
 
In addition to this topic, you can always get help with any other matters you may have. Unfortunately, we see many tenants that are being deceived. Often, they miss out on a lot of money – anything from a couple of thousands to 30-40,000 kroner. Imagine what else you could spend the money on.

Let us help you

At DIGURA we are always available and easy to reach, you have your own legal advisor, and best of all you only pay if we win your case. Therefore, it is risk free for you to get help from us.

We have achieved a positive result for tenants in 98% of all the cases that we have processed. We have a 9,3 score on Trustpilot, 5 star rating on Facebook, and we have helped more than 1000 tenants. We really want to help you too.

If you are unsure about anything in the article, our team is ready to help in the chat. You can find the chat in the bottom right corner.

If you need legal advice, you can get your case assessed below. It is free and our competent legal team will make a non-committal assessment of your case.

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