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Dear PAO,

My brother is renting a dormitory in Manila for P9,000 a month based on a lease contract for two years. Unfortunately, he failed to pay his rent for two months and was threatened to be ejected by his landlord. He was also informed that the lessor intends to use the dorm for his family. We believe, however, that the lessor only wants to eject my brother so that he can rent it out to other lessees for a higher price. Can the lessor validly eject my brother for these reasons?

Cynthia

Dear Cynthia,

Republic Act (RA) 9653, known as the "Rent Control Act of 2009," provides for the rules with regard to rent of residential units as part of the State's policy to encourage the development and at the same time ensure affordable housing for the lower income brackets. This law covers all residential units in the National Capital Region and other highly urbanized cities, with a total monthly rent of up to P10,000 and P5,000 for residential units in all other areas. (Section 5) Under this law, a residential unit is defined and is considered to include:

"...apartment, house and/or land on which another's dwelling is located and used for residential purposes and shall include not only buildings, part or units thereof used solely as dwelling places, boarding houses, dormitories, rooms and bedspaces offered for rent by their owners, except motels, motel rooms, hotels, hotel rooms, but also those used for home industries, retail stores or other business purposes if the owner thereof and his or her family actually live therein and use it principally for dwelling purposes." (Section 3; Emphasis supplied).

Considering the kind of unit being rented by your brother and its corresponding amount, it appears that the applicable rules for his lease are governed by this law.

RA 9653 provides for the grounds and conditions to judicially eject a lessee. Based on the provisions of the law, the failure of the lessee to pay rent for a total of three months is a ground for judicial ejectment. (Sec. 9 (b)) Since your brother only has two months' worth of unpaid rent, his lessor cannot eject him for now, based on this ground alone. It is best for your brother to settle this unpaid rent as soon as possible before it reaches the limit of three months, which will then give his lessor the right to make good on his threat to judicially eject him.

You also mentioned that the lessor of your brother intends to eject him since the leased unit will be renovated and used by his family. With regard to this, it is important to note that while RA 9653 expressly recognizes the legitimate personal need of the lessor and/or his or her immediate family as a ground to eject a lessee, the law still provides for specific conditions before this can take place. Among this is that the lessor, or his or her immediate family must use the leased property as a residential unit. Another condition is that the lease period on the subject property must have already expired. Considering that your brother's lease contract is yet to expire, his lessor cannot use this ground for now to eject him. (Sec. 9 (c))

The law also states that the owner/lessor is prohibited from leasing the subject residential unit or allowing its use by a third party for a period of at least one year from the time of repossession. (Ibid.) In addition, the law provides that violating any of its provisions carries a penalty of fine ranging from P25,000 to P50,000 or imprisonment for one month and one day up to six months, or both. (Sec. 13). This provides a safeguard to your worry that your brother's lessor wants to eject him just so he can lease it to other lessees. Considering the above discussed provisions, it is clear that your brother is still safe from being judicially ejected from his dormitory.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

Editor's note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney's Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net

Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/07/28/legal-advice/ejectment-from-a-leased-dormitory/1852498?fbclid=IwAR26HYJapjzCEuBnv3N-MvWxSml2JV5W9A4tIXtxwCc72vlyj7acrhGbKe0

Tags: Contact Lease Dormitory