Renting an apartment in Estonia: tenant and landlord rights

By Ero Liivik, lawyer (jurist) at Erovik Law Office · Updated 2 November 2026

Renting an apartment in Estonia is governed by the Law of Obligations Act (VÕS), and for homes its rules mostly protect the tenant: as a rule, lease terms that leave the tenant worse off than the Act are void (VÕS § 275). Deposits are capped at three months’ rent, rent increases need reasons, and ending an open-ended lease takes at least three months’ notice.

Key points

• Deposit (tagatisraha): at most three months’ rent, kept separately in a bank (VÕS § 308).
• Either side can end an open-ended lease with at least three months’ notice; a fixed-term lease normally runs to its end date (VÕS §§ 309, 312, 313).
• For rent arrears, the landlord must normally first set a final deadline of at least 14 days (VÕS § 316).
• A landlord’s termination that is contrary to good faith can be contested at a rent committee (üürikomisjon) or in court within 30 days (VÕS §§ 326, 329).

Which rules apply and the lease contract

These rules apply to a dwelling (eluruum): a house or apartment suitable for permanent living. They do not apply, for example, to holiday or accommodation-business rentals of up to three months, other rentals for temporary use, or a room in the landlord’s home that the landlord has mostly furnished (VÕS § 272).

A lease (üürileping) need not be in writing (VÕS § 11). But a lease for more than one year that is not in written form, meaning signed by hand or digitally, is treated as open-ended, and notice cannot end it earlier than one year after the flat was handed over (VÕS § 274; §§ 78 and 80 of the General Part of the Civil Code Act (TsÜS)).

• A fixed-term lease (tähtajaline) ends on the agreed date. Before that, it can be ended only on a statutory ground, such as a good reason, or by the tenant if the lease allows this (VÕS §§ 309, 313). It becomes open-ended if you stay on and neither side objects within two weeks. A lease for two years or more also becomes open-ended when it expires, unless either side objects at least two months before the end (VÕS § 310).
• An open-ended lease (tähtajatu) can be terminated by either side with notice; a clause giving the landlord extra grounds for termination is void (VÕS §§ 309(3), 312).

At move-in, sign a handover deed (üleandmisakt) and add photos and meter readings: the flat is presumed to have been handed over in the condition it records (VÕS § 334(1)).

The deposit

A deposit of up to three months’ rent can be agreed, and you may pay it in equal parts over three months. The landlord must keep it in a credit institution, separately from their own assets, at no less than the local average interest rate; the interest is yours (VÕS § 308(1), (2)). After the lease ends, you can demand the deposit back if the landlord has not notified you of a claim within two months (VÕS § 308(3)).

Rent, utilities and rent increases

Utilities and other service charges (kõrvalkulud) are payable only if agreed in a form that can be reproduced in writing, such as an e-mail. A reasonable, proportionate and foreseeable share of the costs of maintaining and improving the whole building is payable only if agreed in that form when the lease is signed (VÕS § 292). A contractual penalty for late payment is void, but a higher late payment interest rate, up to three times the statutory rate, can be agreed in that form (VÕS §§ 287(1), 287¹).

• When: in an open-ended lease, the landlord is presumed to be able to raise the rent once a year, counted from the signing of the lease (VÕS § 299(1)). In a fixed-term lease, it can do so without your agreement only in a lease of at least three years, under a clause that precisely defines the increase, and at most once a year (VÕS §§ 299(5), 300).
• Notice: at least 30 days ahead, in a form that can be reproduced in writing, stating the increase and new rent, the start date, the reasons and calculation, and how to contest it. Otherwise, or if the landlord threatens to terminate should you contest it, the increase is void (VÕS § 299(2), (3)).
• Your options: contest an excessive increase within 30 days (VÕS § 303); an increase that is economically justified, for example by higher average rents for similar flats, rising costs or reasonable improvements, is not excessive (VÕS § 301(3)). Or terminate within 30 days of the notice, giving 30 days’ notice, and the rent is not raised (VÕS § 303¹).

Repairs and defects

The landlord must hand over the flat fit for the agreed use and keep it that way; you must use it carefully and consider your neighbours (VÕS § 276). Small defects that ordinary cleaning or upkeep can fix are yours to fix (VÕS § 280). Report other defects without delay (VÕS § 282). For a defect you are not responsible for, you can (VÕS §§ 278, 279, 296):

• demand repair, or fix it yourself and claim the necessary costs if the landlord is late;
• reduce the rent, or pay none while the flat cannot be used at all;
• terminate without notice if the landlord knows or should know of a defect that prevents or substantially restricts use and does not fix it within a reasonable time.

To set off a claim against the rent or withhold rent, notify the landlord in a form that can be reproduced in writing at least one month before the rent is due (VÕS § 297).

Subletting and sale of the flat

Subletting needs the landlord’s consent, which may be refused only for a good reason; an unjustified refusal lets you terminate with ordinary notice (VÕS § 288). If the flat is sold after it was handed over to you, the lease passes to the buyer (VÕS § 291). The buyer may end it early only within three months, with ordinary notice and, except for example after an enforcement or bankruptcy sale, only if they urgently need the flat themselves (VÕS § 323).

Ending the lease

Situation	Notice or condition
Open-ended lease of a flat, either side	At least three months, or longer if agreed (VÕS §§ 311, 312)
Open-ended lease of a furnished room	At least one month (VÕS § 312(2))
Landlord: careless use or disturbing neighbours despite a warning, or a substantial or intentional breach	At least 30 days; none for intentional damage (VÕS § 315)

A termination must be in a form that can be reproduced in writing. The landlord’s notice must state the flat, the end date, the ground, and how and by when to contest it. A tenant needs the consent, in the same form, of a spouse or registered partner living there. Otherwise the termination is void (VÕS § 325).

Rent arrears. The landlord may terminate if you are late on two consecutive due dates with the rent or charges, or a part of them of at least one month’s amount. It may also terminate if unpaid rent or deposit exceeds two months’ rent, or unpaid charges exceed two months’ charges. It must first set a final deadline of at least 14 days in a form that can be reproduced in writing, with a termination warning. This is not needed if, in the year before the arrears, you paid at least twice only within or after such a deadline (VÕS § 316).

Challenging a termination. A landlord’s termination is contrary to good faith in particular if it is a response to your good-faith claim under the lease or to your refusal of a change to your detriment (VÕS § 327(1)). The same applies during a rent committee or court dispute about the lease, or within three years after the landlord lost one, unless there is a good reason such as rent arrears or the landlord’s urgent own need (VÕS § 327(2), (3)). Contest it at a rent committee or in court within 30 days of receiving it (VÕS §§ 326(1), 329(1)).

Extension. If the end of the lease would have severe consequences for you or your family, you can ask for an extension of up to three years. If the landlord does not agree, apply to a rent committee or court within 30 days of receiving the landlord’s notice for an open-ended lease, or at least 60 days before a fixed-term lease ends. Meanwhile, the lease continues (VÕS §§ 326(2), 329).

Moving out. You are not liable for ordinary wear and tear (VÕS § 334(2)), unless, when signing the lease, you agreed in a form that can be reproduced in writing to remove it or pay the reasonable and necessary costs. Such a clause cannot cover furniture and other items let with the flat (VÕS § 334(2¹)). Other clauses requiring a payment at the end of the lease, apart from damages, are generally void (VÕS § 334(4)).

The landlord must inspect the flat on return and report defects you are responsible for without delay, or it loses claims for defects an ordinary inspection would reveal (VÕS § 336). Its claims for damage to the flat expire six months after it gets the flat back (VÕS § 338).

Eviction and changing the locks

A landlord cannot simply change the locks: as the possessor of the flat, the tenant can demand that possession taken unlawfully without consent be restored (§§ 33, 40 and 45 of the Law of Property Act (AÕS)). Eviction needs an enforcement instrument, such as a court judgment or a rent committee decision that has entered into force (§ 2(1) of the Code of Enforcement Procedure (TMS)). A bailiff (kohtutäitur) then gives the tenant up to three months to leave voluntarily and at least 14 days’ notice of the eviction (TMS § 180). See our guide to the bailiff in Estonia.

Typical mistakes

• Tenants: leaving a fixed-term lease on short notice; no handover deed; withholding rent without notice.
• Landlords: a deposit above the legal limit or not kept separately; unreasoned rent increases; changing the locks.

Frequently asked questions

How much deposit can a landlord ask for in Estonia?

At most three months’ rent, which you may pay in equal parts over three months (VÕS § 308).

How much notice must I give to end a lease in Estonia?

At least three months for an open-ended lease of a flat, unless a longer period was agreed. A fixed-term lease can be ended early only on a ground set by law, such as a good reason, or if the lease gives you that right.

Can my landlord evict me without a court decision?

Not on their own. Eviction needs an enforcement instrument, such as a court judgment or a rent committee decision that has entered into force, and is carried out by a bailiff (TMS §§ 2, 180).

How Erovik Law Office can help

We review leases before you sign, draft termination notices and demand letters, and help with deposit, repair and rent arrears disputes, in Estonian or English. See our real estate disputes and debt collection services, fees and contact page.

This guide reflects Estonian law in force on 1 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation.