Tallinn wins rent dispute with Orthodox church

Tallinn has won a long-running rent dispute with the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church after Estonia’s Supreme Court declined to hear the church’s appeal, ERR reported on Tuesday.

The dispute concerned commercial premises at Pikk 64 in Tallinn, which the church used under an open-ended lease. Tallinn’s Central District Government terminated the lease on April 17, 2024. The church challenged the termination in court, seeking to have it declared invalid and the lease recognised as still in force.

Harju County Court dismissed the church’s claim on August 29, 2025, ruling that the district government had the right to end the lease. Tallinn Circuit Court upheld that decision on June 12, 2026.

The Supreme Court’s civil chamber refused on October 19, 2026, to hear the church’s appeal, finding no legal grounds to take it up. The ruling cannot be appealed, making the decision to terminate the lease final.

Tallinn Mayor Peeter Raudsepp said the city had acted lawfully and would seek to put the premises back into use as soon as possible. The city has held talks with church representatives and reached an oral agreement for the premises to be vacated; the parties are still clarifying the deadline.