The Court of Appeals in Rzeszow agreed with the legal view presented in the course of the proceedings by the Law Firm’s lawyers, according to which, if the tenant has paid rent during the period when there is a defect in the object of the lease, an effective demand for the return of the relevant part of the rent can be made only within a year from the date of return of the object of the lease (Article 677 of the Civil Code), and there are no grounds for applying Article 118 of the Civil Code in this case.
The ruling in question was made in an unusual factual situation, in which the landlord terminated the lease agreement to the tenant without preserving the notice period, and then the tenant filed a statement in which he demanded a reduction in rent under the provision of Article 664 § 1 of the Civil Code for the period in which he perceived the existence of defects in the premises.
In the issued judgment, the Court of Second Instance determined that a benefit fulfilled as rent during the period of performance of obligations under the lease agreement in an amount higher than due (e.g., as a result of a reduction in rent for the duration of defects in the premises) cannot be qualified in the category of “undue benefit” under Article 410 of the Civil Code, as it falls within the concept of “overpaid rent” within the meaning of Article 677 of the Civil Code, which is lex specialis to the general provisions on the statute of limitations for claims.
This ruling is final.