Guide to Doing Business
in Suriname
Lease
The lease agreement is the agreement, in which one party (“the owner/lessor”) agrees to provide the enjoyment of an item of property, such as real estate property to another party (“the lessee”) for a fixed price and period of time. The general conditions with respect to the lease agreement are codified in the Suriname Civil Code. More specific legislation with respect to Lease agreements is codified in the Suriname Civil Code (article 1571 et seq. article 1612), the Tenant Protection Act and the Lease Value Tax Act.
On the basis of the lease agreement the lessor is obligated (i) to deliver the property, (ii) maintain the property in the manner that ensures that the property can serve the purpose of the property as stipulated in the lease agreement and (iii) to provide the enjoyment of the property for the duration stipulated in the lease agreement. In return, the lessee is obligated (i) to maintain the property with due care and to use the property in accordance with the lease agreement, and (ii) to meet the financial requirements on the set dates, in particular payment of the lease price.
The Rent Protection Code determines that the cancellation of the lease of a residential building by the lessor may only take place because the lessor has initiated a claim for eviction of the leased residential building with the court in Suriname. The lessor may only claim for the eviction of the lessee or former lessee, due to:
- the improper use of the leased property, serious inconvenience to the lessor or his housemates caused by the lessees his housemates, or due to non-payment of the lease price, the continuation of the lease cannot reasonably be expected from the lessor;
- the lessor, forced by apparent need, needing the leased property for his own use;
- the lessor needs the leased property in order to be able to comply with an obligation imposed by any legal provision or by a government order.