Seasonal rental contract

Verified 21 July 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

A rental is seasonal when the landlord gives the tenant the possibility to use a room for a tourist season. The seasonal lease cannot exceed 6 months. At the end of the season, the owner resumes his premises. Seasonal leasing is excluded from the status of commercial leases.

The seasonal lease is not necessarily a written contract.

However, a written contract will clarify the terms of the seasonal rental and occupancy of the premises:

  • Description and location of premises
  • Rental and occupancy period (maximum 6 months)
  • Payment of rent (payment may be required in full at the beginning of the season)
  • Burden-sharing

The rules of the commercial lease statute that protect the lessee do not apply to the seasonal lease. For example, the tenant is not entitled to the renewal of the lease as is the case in a commercial lease.

The seasonal rental contract generally provides that the rents and charges are due for a defined period, that the keys of the premises are returned at the end of the seasonal rental and that the premises are emptied of the equipment and goods belonging to the tenant. This prevents the seasonal lease is described as a commercial lease.

The tenant who wishes to apply to the court to reclassify his seasonal lease into a commercial lease must act within 2 years after the signature of his first lease.

The seasonal rental agreement has a fixed term of up to 6 months (with a specific end date).

The contract terminates without the need for the landlord to give leave or for the tenant to give notice.

At the end of the lease, the tenant no longer has the use of the premises. This is essential because if the premises are made available to the tenant on a continuous basisHowever, renting is no longer considered seasonal. These are the rules of the commercial lease that apply.

The tenant who wishes to apply to the court to reclassify his seasonal lease into a commercial lease must act within 2 years after the signature of his first lease.

Warning  

Year-round rentals entitle you to the commercial lease status even if the operation is seasonal. This is particularly true in the following situations:

  • Free access to premises throughout the year
  • Rent higher than a seasonal rent
  • Subscriptions for electricity and telephone on behalf of the tenant.

Unlike the tenant of a commercial leaseHowever, the seasonal tenant does not have an automatic right to renew his lease.

But if the seasonal tenant wishes, he can rent the same premises every season. To do this, a new seasonal lease must be signed.

The seasonal lease can therefore be renewed each year for the same season, with the same duration, without any time limit.

It is also possible to conclude a seasonal lease for the same premises at 2 different periods (winter and summer seasons for example).