I am moving apartment and have received my new rental contract. The landlord mentioned that it is an off-the-shelf contract. A couple of points jumped out at me. Are these common in rental contracts or unusual? They did not feature in my current rental contract.

(1) Periodic 'service and cleaning' costs of appliances to be covered by tenant (dishwasher, washing machine, tumble tryer, extraction devices etc.).

(2) Rent to be indexed, which is fine, but I was not familiar with the formula stated; (current index - previous index x 100) / previous index.

(3) Upon move-out the usual cleaning requirements, which is fine, plus receipts for payment for 'functional check of dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer'.

Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

1. Yes, definitely. Actually quite normal.

2. I don't really understand the formula (never was good at maths) but basically if interest rates rise he can increase the rent but only at the end of the rental period. So if an annual contract only at the anniversary. You can accept or leave. The reverse happens if rates go down.

3. No. It's the landlord's duty to check everything is in order (or not) when you leave. If it breaks due to age and normal wear and tear, not down to you. If you did something to break it then it's up to you to pay.

Hope this helps.

Yes
Yes - looks like a normal percentage calculation of the change in reference interest rate
No

Dishwashers etc need regular maintenance and cleaning but they are designed so you can do this yourself.

Your potential new landlord is misinformed.

Agree with the others:

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Not for the receipt parts.

Also 1) refers only to the cleaning of filters, cleaning the detergent box etc. If something breaks that is not on you.

Someone will come along who knows the law but I think point 3) cannot be enforced so perhaps just sign the contract and make it a tomorrow problem if you really want the flat.

K

Thank you everyone that contributed. I managed to work everything out.