Read how the courts assess the intensity of a gross breach of the tenant's obligations under § 711 of the Slovak Civil Code, how it differs from a breach of good morals in the building, and why contractual clauses labelling any breach whatsoever as gross are absolutely invalid.
The ground for termination enshrined in § 711(1)(d) of the Slovak Civil Code is the most frequently used qualified means by which a landlord terminates a residential lease. It must be distinguished from the ground for termination under letter (c) of that provision. Whereas conduct under letter (c) is directed against the other occupants of the building (e.g. disturbing the night-time peace or breaching good morals), a breach under letter (d) is directed primarily against the landlord personally.
The statute does not legally define "gross breach" and gives only two illustrative examples (non-payment of rent/service charges for more than three months, and unauthorised subletting). However, other breaches of obligations arising from the statute or the contract also come into consideration.
In assessing whether a breach reaches the intensity of a "gross breach", the body applying the law evaluates, within the scope of judicial discretion, the individual circumstances of the case:
It is not necessary for another breach to reach exactly the same or a higher intensity than the statutory illustrative examples. It is sufficient for judicial discretion to conclude that gross intensity of some kind has been reached. Breaches that do not reach this intensity do not stand up as a ground for termination.
In practice, contracting parties often designate entire articles of the contract, or any breach of an obligation at all (e.g. a ban on smoking, a ban on keeping pets, or the making of minor alterations), as a "gross breach" giving rise to a right of termination. Such contractual arrangements are absolutely invalid under § 39 of the Slovak Civil Code, because they:
Another example of an invalid arrangement is a contractual shortening of the period of non-payment of rent to one month as a ground for termination under letter (d) of the Slovak Civil Code.
According to the settled decision-making practice of the courts, a gross breach of obligations is most often constituted by the following conduct:
How can we help you?
We will assess whether the tenant's conduct reaches the intensity required by judicial practice and, where necessary, draw up a legally sound notice of termination of the residential lease.
