Open-ended: by the 15th, for next month's end · fixed-term: as the contract allows

Updated

📤 Can I end my rental early in Hungary?

It depends

Quick answer

Open-ended leases yes — fixed-term ones only if your contract let that door in. The housing act's order: open-ended leases end by ordinary notice from either party — served in writing by the 15th of the month, effective at the end of the following month (parties may agree different periods). Fixed-term leases, though, generally bind until expiry: ordinary notice works only where the contract expressly allows it — otherwise your options are mutual agreement, offering a replacement tenant, or breach-based (immediate) termination where the landlord seriously defaults (uninhabitable flat, title problems). The deposit can't be 'lived off' automatically — settlement comes at move-out. Terminate in writing (registered or countersigned), and document the handover with a protocol and photos.

📋 The key rules

Open-ended: ordinary notice — served by the 15th, effective at next month's end
Fixed-term: generally not terminable — unless the contract allows
Fixed-term exits: mutual agreement, replacement tenant, or breach-based notice
Notice always in writing — with provable delivery
Move-out: protocol + photos, with deposit settlement

🔓 Exceptions

The landlord's serious breach (uninhabitability, harassment): immediate-termination ground
Contractual notice periods may differ from the statutory default — your paper governs

⚠️ Penalties

Unlawfully abandoning a fixed-term lease can ground claims for the remaining rent (at least until re-letting); conversely, withholding the deposit without lawful settlement is the landlord's violation.

📎 Official sources

Verified: 2026-06-20

❓ Frequently asked questions

My lease is open-ended. When can I leave?

Anytime: written notice served by the month's 15th ends the lease at the following month's end — served after the 15th, it slips one month further.

I signed for a year but must move. Options?

Check whether the contract allows ordinary notice; if not: mutual agreement (perhaps with an exit compromise), offering a new tenant, or — on the landlord's serious default — breach-based termination.

Can I live off the deposit in the last months?

Only with the landlord's written consent — not unilaterally: the deposit settles at move-out, and 'I won't pay, take the deposit' is a breach.

The landlord wants me out immediately. Can he?

No — termination must be written and follow the statutory/contractual order, and eviction runs only through courts (within the winter moratorium's frame).

🔎 What people actually search

Real search phrases for this topic.

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