With the adoption of the law, tenants can unilaterally terminate lease agreements without compensation or fines. The amendments became part of a large draft of the Federal Law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation for the Purpose of Adopting urgent measures aimed at ensuring sustainable economic development and preventing the consequences of the spread of the new coronavirus infections ".
One of the conditions allowing to exercise this right is to reduce the income of a retail outlet or store by at least 2 times. According to the document, the lessee, under an agreement concluded before the introduction of the high alert regime or an emergency in 2020, “has the right to refuse unilaterally from the specified agreement without charging any fees, including for unilateral cancellation of the agreement, losses in the form lost profits, losses upon termination of the contract, provided for in Article 3931 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, associated exclusively with early termination of the contract. "
To terminate the contract, it is enough to notify the landlord by letter. Another prerequisite is that the employer does not have fines for payment and delays. In addition, the tenant can get back the security deposit.
“The security payment, if it is provided for by the contract and made by the tenant, is subject to return, except for the case if, after acceptance by the state body the authorities of this decision, the tenant did not fulfill or improperly fulfilled obligations not related to the payment of rent payments, " document.
However, it is not clear from the text of the document which real estate tenants are in question. The explanatory note to the document refers to municipal and state real estate.
Source: RBC Real Estate