Grounds for ejecting lessee of rented condo unit

Dear PAO,
I am currently renting a condominium unit in Taguig City (Metro Manila) for P8,000 a month. The contract is to expire in one year. Six months after I started occupying the unit, the owner told me to vacate as she was selling it. Of course I did not leave. Can the buyer evict me after the sale?
Rhenz

Dear Rhenz,
The contract of lease you entered into with the condominium unit owner is covered by Republic Act (RA) 9653 or the Rent Control Act of 2009. Section 9 thereof provides the grounds for ejectment, to wit:

“SEC. 9. Grounds for Judicial Ejectment. – Ejectment shall be allowed on the following grounds:
(a) Assignment of lease or subleasing of residential units in whole or in part, including the acceptance of boarders or bedspacers, without the written consent of the owner/lessor;

(b) Arrears in payment of rent for a total of three (3) months: Provided, That in the case of refusal by the lessor to accept payment of the rent agreed upon, the lessee may either deposit, by way of consignation, the amount in court, or with the city or municipal treasurer, as the case may be, or barangay chairman, or in a bank in the name of and with notice to the lessor, within one (1) month after the refusal of the lessor to accept payment.

The lessee shall thereafter deposit the rent within ten (10) days of every current month. Failure to deposit the rent for three (3) months shall constitute a ground for ejectment.

The lessor, upon authority of the court in case of consignation or upon joint affidavit by him and the lessee to be submitted to the city or municipal treasurer or barangay chairman and to the bank where deposit was made, shall be allowed to withdraw the deposits;

(c) Legitimate need of the owner/lessor to repossess his or her property for his or her own use or for the use of any immediate member of his or her family as a residential unit: Provided, however, That the lease for a definite period has expired: Provided, further, that the lessor has given the lessee the formal notice three (3) months in advance of the lessor’s intention to repossess the property and: Provided, finally, that the owner/lessor is prohibited from leasing the residential unit or allowing its use by a third party for a period of at least (1) year from the time of repossession;

(d) Need of the lessor to make necessary repairs of the leased premises which is the subject of an existing order of condemnation by appropriate authorities concerned in order to make the said premises safe and habitable: Provided, That after said repair, the lessee ejected shall have the first preference to lease the same premises: Provided, however, That the new rent shall be reasonably commensurate with the expenses incurred for the repair of the said residential unit and: Provided, finally, That if the residential unit is condemned or completely demolished, the lease of the new building will no longer be subject to the aforementioned first preference rule in this subsection; and
(e) Expiration of the period of the lease contract.”

Clearly, the sale of the unit being rented is not a ground for evicting a tenant, even if the sale is consummated. The buyer should honor the contract as well as its terms and conditions. Should there exist a ground or grounds for ejectment after the sale, it is the right of the buyer to evict the tenant.
Also, as expressly provided by the above-mentioned law, no lessor shall be evicted by reason of the sale of the leased unit. This is particularly provided by Section 10 of the said law:

“SEC. 10. Prohibition Against Ejectment by Reason of Sale or Mortgage. – No lessor or his successor-in-interest shall be entitled to eject the lessee upon the ground that the leased premises have been sold or mortgaged to a third person regardless of whether the lease or mortgage is registered or not.”

Thus, if the only reason of your lessor to evict you from the premises you are renting is the sale of the said unit, then this will not prosper as this is contrary to law.

Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.
We hope that we were able to guide you with our opinion on the matter.

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:  Manila Times

Rent control law covers residential units with monthly rent of P10,000 and below

Dear PAO,
I am renting a condo unit for P15,000 a month. The owner would like to increase the rent to P17,000 a month, four months before the end of the lease contract. Is this not in violation of the Rent Control Law?
Peter

Dear Peter,
The law you are referring to in your letter is Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9653 or the Rent Control Act of 2009. Under this law, the lessor of a residential unit may not increase the rent by more than 7% per annum as long as the unit is occupied by the same lessee (Section 4, R.A. No. 9653).

A residential unit as defined by the said law is as follows:

“Residential unit shall refer to an 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.”

However, only those residential units where the monthly rent does not exceed P10,000.00 in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized city or P5,000.00 in other places are covered by the said law (Section 4, RA No. 9653).

Since, your monthly rent exceeds the amounts aforementioned, you are not covered by the said law. Thus, the owner of the condominium unit you are renting may increase the amount of rent. Nevertheless, he may do so only after the expiration of the period as stipulated in the contract of lease. In other words, he cannot amend the provision of the lease contract insofar as the monthly rental is concerned, unless you are amenable to the same. If he insists on collecting higher rent than what was agreed upon, he is violating the said contract which will entitle you to either rescind or cause the fulfilment of the terms and conditions of the contract which was violated plus damages in either case (Article 1191, New Civil Code of the Philippines).

Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.

We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.

source:  Manila Times Column of Atty Persida Acosta