A landlord's worst-case scenario is not a burnt-out boiler but a tenant who has not paid for months and will not move out either. In recent years several publications have gone through the eviction process and the role of the notarial deed step by step, and as a broker I see that landlords' questions at this point are very practical: if I have legal protection insurance, will it pay for the lawyer, the lawsuit and the bailiff – and will it pay for the notarial deed that should have been drawn up when the lease was signed? The two tools are often confused, even though they serve different purposes: the deed makes it possible to skip the lawsuit, while legal protection insurance (also known as legal expenses insurance) bears the costs of a dispute that has already arisen. The articles on the property and tenancy disputes module and on rental disputes set out the general framework; this article deals specifically with a tenant who neither pays nor moves out.
- The property and tenancy module of legal protection insurance typically covers the legal costs of a tenancy dispute that has already arisen – lawyer's fees, court fees, expert fees and, under some policy conditions, the cost of enforcement – within the limits set by the waiting period, the cover limit and the date on which the dispute arose.
- A notarial move-out declaration is a preventive tool: its fee is paid by the parties, and legal protection policy conditions typically exclude the drafting of documents – in return, the eviction can be started without a lawsuit, on the basis of an enforcement clause.
- Neither tool makes up for the unpaid rent: it remains the tenant's debt, which has to be enforced through an order for payment or a lawsuit – legal protection insurance can help with the cost of this, but it does not pay the amount in your place.
The tenant is not paying: what happens under the law?
The first stage is decided not in court but on paper. Under Section 25 of Act LXXVIII of 1993 on the lease of flats and premises (the Housing Act), if the tenant does not pay the rent when it falls due, the landlord must send the tenant a written demand, warning of the consequences; if the tenant does not comply with the demand within eight days, the landlord may terminate the lease in writing within a further eight days. The termination may take effect on the last day of the month following the missed deadline, and the notice period may not be shorter than fifteen days. The details of the lease – for example when the rent falls due – affect how the deadlines are calculated, so it is worth getting out your own contract as well – but the essence is the same: a verbal “pay or move out” is not a termination; a dated letter with proof of delivery is. If the termination has taken effect and the tenant stays, from then on they are occupying the flat without legal title: under Section 20 of the Housing Act they must pay the person entitled a usage fee equal to the rent, which may be increased once two months have passed since the occupation without legal title began. What the landlord may not do: change the locks, clear out the tenant's belongings or have the electricity cut off. This is prohibited self-help and may, depending on the circumstances, even have criminal consequences, regardless of how much the tenant owes. From this point on, two separate claims run in parallel: the money claim – arrears, usage fee, unpaid utility bills – which can typically be enforced through an order for payment (a procedure conducted by a notary) or a lawsuit, and vacating the flat, that is, the tenant actually leaving it.
Two routes to vacating the flat: a lawsuit or a notarial deed
If there is no enforceable instrument, the landlord has to bring a lawsuit for the vacating of the flat (an eviction lawsuit); after the final judgment, a bailiff carries out the eviction. This takes months, and in the meantime the usage fee keeps accumulating. The other route is the notarial deed. Two forms have become widespread: either the entire lease is put into a notarial deed, or the tenant makes a separate, unilateral declaration of undertaking – commonly called a move-out declaration – in which they undertake to leave the flat when the lease ends. Under Section 23/C of Act LIII of 1994 on judicial enforcement (Vht.), the notary who drew up the deed attaches an enforcement clause to the notarial deed if it contains the undertaking, the names of the entitled party and the obligated party, the subject matter, quantity and legal basis of the obligation, and the manner and deadline of performance. In that case the eviction lawsuit is skipped: after the termination has taken effect, the landlord asks the notary for the clause, and the bailiff takes action. One important detail: since the obligation to move out depends on the end of the lease, under Section 23/C(2) of the Vht. enforceability also requires that the occurrence of this condition be certified by a public document – in practice, therefore, the termination is also put into a notarial deed or served through a notary, and the clause can be requested only after the deadline for performance has expired. There are, however, three things worth knowing. First: the costs of enforcement are advanced by the party requesting enforcement, and they are recovered only if they can be collected from the tenant. Second: as a general rule, the Vht. postpones the vacating of residential property during the winter period – between 15 November and 30 April – with the exceptions listed in the Act, so the actual eviction may be delayed by months. Third: the fee for the notarial deed is set by the Ministry of Justice (IM) decree on notarial fees, based on the value of the matter – the rent and the term; whether the landlord or the tenant pays it depends on the parties' agreement. This cost arises when the lease is signed, when there is no dispute at all yet – and that is precisely why it is not an insurance matter.
What does legal protection insurance cover in all this?
Legal protection insurance does not pay off the tenant's debt; it pays the legal costs of the dispute. On the Hungarian market, property legal protection modules typically cover disputes arising from the lease – so on the landlord's side, enforcing the arrears and the claim for vacating the flat as well – and the covered costs typically include the lawyer's fees, court fees, the fees of witnesses and court-appointed experts and, if you lose the case, the opposing party's legal costs. Enforcement, however, is not included in every set of policy conditions. One Hungarian product information document – for the LegitiMo Ingatlanvédő JogSzerviz (a property legal protection product) – names, in its broader package, disputes arising from breaches of lease and usufructuary lease contracts and the protection of possession, and lists among the covered costs “reimbursement of the costs of the enforcement procedure and of enforcement”; the same document sets a three-month waiting period and limits the territorial scope to Hungary. Other policy conditions may restrict enforcement – for example to one enforcement attempt or to part of the sum insured – so this is the line you need to look for, word for word, in your own policy conditions. What is typically not included: preventive drafting of documents. The same product information document excludes the drafting of property-related contracts and does not list the notary's fee among the covered costs – in other words, having the move-out declaration drawn up remains the landlord's own investment. The legal advice line, on the other hand, is part of the service under many policy conditions and can be useful for talking through a lease. Three further limits: the date on which the dispute arose – if the non-payment began before the policy was taken out or during the waiting period, the policy conditions typically exclude it – the assessment of the prospects of success, and the requirement to obtain the insurer's consent before instructing a lawyer. The complete map of costs is shown in the cost map article.
How do the two fit together in practice?
There are three typical set-ups. If you have legal protection insurance but no notarial deed, the route is the written demand and the termination, then reporting the case to the insurer, an order for payment for the arrears, the eviction lawsuit and finally enforcement – the insurer bears the legal costs in line with the policy conditions and up to the limit, but the lost rent is not the insurer's loss; it is yours until it can be collected from the tenant. If you have a deed but no legal protection insurance, the lawsuit is skipped, but you pay for the lawyer, the clause and the advance on enforcement costs out of your own pocket; and if the tenant challenges the enforcement – with an objection or a lawsuit to have the enforcement terminated – that is again a legal dispute, at your own expense. If you have both, the deed skips the longest stage, and legal protection insurance covers the costs of the disputed parts and – depending on the policy conditions – of enforcement. The typical mistakes are the same ones I see in other cases too: a verbal or incomplete contract, an undocumented demand, self-help, taking out legal protection insurance when the tenant has already stopped paying – in which case the cover does not apply because of the waiting period and the exclusion of pre-existing disputes – and instructing a lawyer without asking the insurer.
What should you do as a landlord?
If you are letting a property now: a written contract, a detailed handover report, and give some thought to a notarial deed – its fee can be weighed against the rent and the risk, and a lawyer or a notary can give you information on this. It is worth taking out the property module of legal protection insurance in a calm period, before you let the property, and looking for three lines in the policy conditions: whether the landlord's side is included, what they say about enforcement costs, and how long the waiting period is. If trouble has already started: send the written demand and the termination in line with the law and the contract, in writing and in a verifiable way, and report the legal case through the insurer's own claims line before you instruct a lawyer – this is the primary route for reporting it. If you send me your policy conditions, I will look at whether landlord cover and enforcement costs are included; if a case gets stuck or disputed, I help where I can, acting on your behalf. The insurer pays only for what is an insured event under your contract – so for a landlord the question is not whether they have legal protection insurance, but whether it covers tenancy disputes and enforcement.
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Sources
- Act LXXVIII of 1993 on certain rules for the lease and sale of flats and premises (Housing Act) – Section 20: usage fee; Section 25: termination for non-payment of rent
- Act LIII of 1994 on judicial enforcement (Vht.) – Section 23/C: enforcement clause on a notarial deed; vacating of residential property and the winter moratorium
- LegitiMo Jogvédelmi Biztosító – Ingatlanvédő JogSzerviz legal protection insurance product information document (tenancy disputes, enforcement costs, exclusions, waiting period)
- Telex/G7 – Not paying and not willing to move out either: how can a notary help in residential tenancy cases?
- Economx – How do you send the bailiff after a non-paying tenant? (October 2025)
