We live in a rented apartment, the rental contract was concluded by my husband for a period of 25 years. Unfortunately, my husband died recently. Will I be oust from the apartment now?

On May 1, 2021, a new law “On the rental of residential premises” came into force, hereinafter – the Law, which, unlike the previous law, regulates some key issues in a different way.

The rental contract terminates with the death of the tenant (see paragraph 3 of the first part of Article 19 of the Law) and the right to rent is not subject to inheritance (see the second part of Article 19 of the Law).

However, in order to protect the interests of persons who were legally settled by the tenant in a rented apartment (spouses, children, etc.), the Law provides them with the opportunity to ask for a new rental contract with them instead of the previous tenant, without changing the conditions of the previous rental contract, with the exception of the term of the contract, which cannot be longer than 10 years (see part three of Article 16 of the Law).

Thus, the surviving spouse has the right to request renegotiation of the rental contract with him on the same conditions for the remaining period, but not more than 10 years. It is very important to realize this right within the time period established by the Law – within 3 months from the date of the death of the spouse. Otherwise, this right will be lost and the surviving spouse will have no legal basis for further living in the apartment.