Key Money (Buyout to Vacate Early)
A sum of money one party to a lease pays the other in exchange for an early, mutually agreed release from a fixed-term agreement that could not otherwise be terminated unilaterally.
Сфера дії: Польща.
Визначення
Odstępne is not defined by a dedicated statute — it functions as a contractual buyout, most often negotiated when a fixed-term residential or commercial lease has no early-termination clause and one side needs to exit before the term ends. It can flow in either direction: a tenant paying the landlord to be released early, or a landlord paying a tenant to vacate ahead of schedule, for example to free up a property for renovation or sale.
Because a fixed-term lease otherwise binds both sides for its full duration, odstępne is a negotiated workaround rather than a legal right either party can demand — the other side is free to refuse and simply hold the original party to the contract's remaining term.
To be enforceable and to avoid later disputes, an odstępne arrangement should be documented in writing — ideally as an annex to the original lease recording that both parties agree to terminate it early in exchange for the stated payment.
Приклади
A tenant with eight months left on a two-year lease needs to relocate for work and offers the landlord one month's rent as odstępne to be released early.
A landlord who wants to sell a flat with vacant possession offers the sitting tenant, still six months into a fixed-term lease, a cash payment to move out ahead of schedule.
Two parties agree odstępne informally by text message, then later dispute whether the lease was actually terminated — a written annex would have avoided the ambiguity.
Як це впливає на купівлю та продаж
Because odstępne is a negotiated exit rather than a statutory right, either party can simply say no and insist on the lease running its course — this gives the side that wants to stay real leverage in the negotiation. Whoever initiates the request should put the final arrangement in writing to avoid disputing later whether the lease was actually terminated.
