Republic Act (RA) No. 9653 – Rent Control Act of 2009 (full text copy)

Hi Jay,

I have been reading your site for quite some time now. It is very informative and I am more convinced now than after reading ThinkRich Pinoy-Quick. But I fully understand that after reading you blog site and books I still have a lot to learn about real estate.

After going through a list of foreclosed properties I have now prospect properties that I want to invest. Problem is I do not know what to do next… Do you know if some individual/group giving seminars on quick run through about in-and-out’s in real estate investment. I am concerened about the legallity of my transactions and also have an idea on costs that I might incur during the process. I might also want to be a licensed broker that may enhance may credibility as a seller/buyer.

Thanks in advance.
I fully appreciate your help through this blog. I pray that this may be the turning point towards to my financial freedom.
God Bless And More Power!!!

Thank you for this update Jay, I am grateful for your site, it is indeed a lot of help since I do not have to go through each banks online asset page, it is fast, reliable.

I would like to establish a back link to your site with my blog which is also about pinoy business coaching which I believe can also help bustling real estate investors grow their business through sound principles.

Here is the address
http://pinoybusinesscoach.blogspot.com

Thanks and more power to you!

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the compliment, glad to be of help. Sure we can exchange links. I’ll put your link in my blogroll, please don’t forget to put http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com in yours! Thanks!

Hi Jay-R,

You sound just like me after I attended the Think Rich Pinoy seminar last August 2007. =)

I understand your concern about the legalities and the associated costs with real estate investing, I’ve been there! In my case, I reviewed for the broker’s seminar and learned just about everything I needed to learn. Since the brokers exam and review seminars are currently in limbo because of the RESA law, the seminar of Engineer Cruz comes to mind. However, the topic about investing in real estate was already covered last August 12, 2009. You can get a complete list of remaining topics at http://urban-institute.blogspot.com/. I’ll be attending the following topics:
Day 6, September 16 PROPERTY VALUATION: HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF
Day 7, September 23 HOW TO START & MANAGE A SUCCESSFUL REALTY OFFICE
and probably Day 9, October 7 REAL ESTATE FINANCE AND INVESTMENT ANALYSIS
If you’re attending, I’ll see you there!

Good luck and God Bless!

Hello,

First off I would just like to thank you for posting the full text. I’ve been going off of newspaper highlights and they always left me with questions.

I do however have one question I would like to clarify. I’m curious as to whether this law applies to rent increases that were made in between January 1, 2009 to July 14, 2009. I’m assuming that there are no implications as the law was pretty “non-existent” at the time, but I keep seeing/hearing contradictory statements about this. Your opinion/response would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Seth

Hi Seth, you’re welcome! In my opinion the new law should not apply for that period as it really was not yet in effect. I really hope they can come out with this law’s implementing rules and regulations so that we’ll have clear and definite answers for this and other questions that have been asked due to the passage of the law.

Great reference.

good am!!what if we dont have a contract, and the lessor is already ejecting us. we only stayed in the place for only 1 month and they are already ejecting us,coz one of their relatives will used the premises. we dont have any arrears and we dont pay the 2 mos deposit because they dont pay the arrears in meralco and the water bill. we paid the advance payment. please advice us and thank you very much.

Hi, Jay! I just need advise. Do we have law which mandates that “all enhancements, repairs and upgrade made by a lessee in his rented apartment can be deducted from his monthly rent”? For instance, I would like to have my own water meter but the owner of the apartment does not want to deduct the expense from my monthly rent. Also, I spent more than P 5,000.00 in re-painting the whole unit and the owner did not even share any in the cost. Do I have legal claim on these?

Hi! I have a problem regarding on my boarding house here in sampaloc. I want to transfer to different boarding house that is near to our school but the problem is our land lady didn’t want to give my deposit(refund) i can’t consume it because of time. I spend a lot of money if I were there. Do I have legal claim on my problem? Can my land lady refund my deposit?

Hi Macy, I believe there is no law which mandates this but I suppose it can be incorporated into the lease contract. I guess the best way to avoid misunderstandings between a tenant and a landlord would be to ensure that they reach an agreement as to how costs related to improvements are handled prior to the introduction of the improvements, aside from having these included in the lease contract.

Hi Cristian, I believe it depends on the lease contract you have. If it says that that your deposit is not refundable in case you pre-terminate your contract, then you are not entitled to a refund for your deposit. May I know what’s written on the lease contract with regards to pre-termination?

hi jay ! a lessee has not paid his rent since oct 15,2009 . he has no deposit left. i have given him notice to vacate by oct 30 but he’s refused to do so. at the barangay hearing he said he will vacate by nov. 30 but when asked for rental only says he has no money. what should i do so i can evict him lawfully. thx

Hi Tuesday, how about his 1 month advance? I suppose you can consume that. By the way, do you have a lease contract with him? I also notice your tenant has only has failed to pay 1 month of rent. Based on the law, one ground for ejection is as follows:

(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;

hi. Thanks for the info on the Rent Control law. I have question though. My tenant”sontract have already expired. Rental amount is below ten thousand pesos. I also have another tenant whose rental amount is ten thousand pesos but if paid within the first 7 days of the month a discount of five hundred pesos is given. Do I fall under the rent control law? I would like to increase their rent already. When can I increase and upto how many percent.? Will wait for your reply. Thanks

Hi Ping, my opinion is your second tenant’s contract with you would fall under the rent control law if your contract indicates a monthly rent of 10K. If it were the other way around (monthly rent is 9.5K with penalty of 500pesos if payment is made after the first 7 days of the month, then I guess it would not be covered. I hope this makes sense.

Hi! Has the IRR of the above been released? My contract is due to expire next month and I want to make sure whether the 7% increase limit will be applicable when I renew my contract. Thanks.

Hi Mai, unfortunately it has not yet been released. Don’t worry, I will surely post the IRR here once it comes out or at the very least post updates about it. Thanks for dropping by!

Hi Jay, I have problem of my tenant, She do things in my premises without informing me like concreting my backyard and ask me the 50% share of cost, kill my plants by cuting it, remove the plywood division and the worst thing is cut those 2 big trees in my front yard which i care for 9 years..Then Her rent always late and sometimes luck but pay it to the next month.
We have no written contract or no O.R. of her payment coz i didnot issue,No proof that she rent my houase, is the 3 months notice to vacate is applicable to me? We only agre a short term lease or month to month basis verbally. THank hope you advise me

hi Jay,

We are renting a house/computershop for barely 16 months now. our formal contract expired last August 2009 although verbal agreement still holds true and payments being made. Just recently, the owner inform us that we need to vacant the premise by July 2010, do i get any extra “free” months aside from my 1 month advance and 2 months deposit? i heard that i can avail a 4 months free of charge if the owner is force evicting due to personal reasons.

Hi,
I need advise on my case. My contact expired on Jan 8, 2010. I didnt realize that this RA 9653 exists. I just signed the new contract. Since 2006 our rent is being increased 10% annually. It was 5000 initially and for 2009 it was 6050 and now the new contract says 6655 and also the water and electicall bill they add more than 100% from the actuall cost. I am renting a studio type room here in cebu city. After signing the contract does this mean I am not entitled to this RA? or does the owner needs to do something on this. If not can i file something. I know the owner has a lot of connection since he is the owner of Indiana Aerospace University and a good ally of Sen Enrile.

Please advise.

thanks

Hi,

First of all, thank you for this reference. I would like to ask for your opinion regarding our landlady. She owns a three-storey apartment type building with six units and we are renting one of her 2-bdrm units for almost two years now. Our rental fee ever since was Php10,000. Now, just the other day, Mar 2, she sent us a “Notice of Increase”. She stated in that notice that she is increasing our monthly rental fee from Php10,000 to Php12,500 effective our next payment, Mar 6, which was just 3 days from the time the notice was received. Our contract will expire on May but she wants it effective ASAP. She also said she really wants to increase the rent to 12,500 which is why she is she is already informing us ahead of time. To top that, she also said that if we will renew, then the new rate will be 12,500 but if we will not renew, then she will push thru with the 25% increase effective Mar 6. Now, i just want to make sure if i really have the right to decline that increase up until we finish our contract on May, whether or not we renew. Thank you very much, God Bless!

I have a tenant in my apartment whose contract is until December 31, 2010. Recently, she had issues on the water bill and she started calling me names and scandalized me in our apartment building. Is there any ground where I can cancel the contract? It’s giving me sleepless nights and stress on what she’s doing.

Help.

HI I WOULD LIKE TO INQUIRE IF THE LANDLORDS FOR A LEASED PROPERTY WERE REQUIRED FOR THE FOLLOWINGS:

1.PERMIT TO OPERATE LEASSING BUSSINESS
2.REGISTRATION WITH BIR
3.ISSUANCE OF OFFICIAL RECEIPT
4.CERTIFICATE FROM BUREAU OF FIRE PROTECTION(BASED ON FIRE PROTECTION CODE)

IF, YES, IS THERE ANY LEGAL RIGHTS A TENANT HAVE, TO DEMAND THEIR LANDLORD TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENT FOR SUCH BUSINESS?

How do you file income tax return for income from rent?

How do you declare income from rental on your income tax return?

Hi Jay. I just want to know if there is a new rental law for 2010 about increasing the rent for 15%. Because are landlady was asking for a 15% increase to our rent. Thanks.

The only update on the rental law is the 2009 RENTAL LAW and it states that rentals can increase at no more than 7 percent per year.

Hi,

I hope you can help me with this..
In the last sentence of Section 9, (c) , prohibiting the owner to lease the unit to a third party (not relatives right?) for 1 year, is it effective automatically? If we go to the barangay for example, or does it need to have a court order issued for it to be effective?

Thanks.

HI,

NEED AN ADV FOR MY CONCERN…. MY LANDLADY GAVE ME A NOTIFICATION THAT I HAVE TO LEAVE THE PREMISES BY JULY 30,2010….. THE “CONTRACT” ENDS BY THEN. I ALREADY USED MY ADVANCE ON RENTAL BEC RECENTLY I AM HAVING A HARDTIME ON MY FINANCIALS DUE TO SICKNESS… I BELIEVE THAT I HAVENT USED MY DEPOSIT FOR A MONTH BUT SHE SAYS THAT I ALREADY DID…. SHE’S NOT GIVING ME AN OR THAT’S WHY I DONT HAVE ANY PROOF OF THAT…. MY CONCERN IS THAT IT IS ALSO USED FOR BUSINESS (INTERNET SHOP) AND ITS NOT EASY TO VACATE AND SET-UP TO ANOTHER PLACE SINCE I DONT HAVE THE RESOURCES AS OF THE MOMENT… THANKS

hi jay,

Hi! I have a problem regarding on my boarding house here in malibay. I want to used my 1month deposit because i am leaving the country but the problem is our land lady told me that the 1month deposit is not refundable and non consumable i was shocked when she told me. she gave me a receipt before indicating that the 1month advance is consumable and non refundable and the 1month deposit is not refundable and non consumable, it was a misunderstanding because i thought that the 1month deposit is refundable and consumable becasue that’s the usual. . Do I have legal claim on my problem? Can my land lady agree to consume my 1month deposit? we don’t we any contract except the receipt she gave me.

hi poe..
meron poe ako problema tungkol poe sa inupahan naming bahay, bayad naman poe kmi lagi sknya ng renta poe namin pero lagi poe kmi advance… eto pong last payment namin advance poe ako ng 2 months deposit…. simula poe nag march 20 poe… tapos ngayong may 20 poe sinabihan poe kmi n umalis n poe kmi ng katapusan ng june.. kasi daw poe sisirain n poe nila ung bahay.. at gagawing garahe.. tapos poe sabi ko poe sa landlady poe namin na hindi ko na lng poe aantayin ung june katapusan at lilipat n poe kmi agad… gus2 ko poe makuha ung kabuuan ng pera na diniposito ko poe.. kasi poe hindi ko pa poe nagagamit ung 2 buwang advance ko poe.. pero sabi ko poe sa kanila akom poe ang magbabayad ng bills.. para ala poe sila problema.. tapos ngayon poe ehh ayaw nila ibigay skin ung pera na kinukuha ko poe.. at pinagbabayad pa poe kmi ng pag stay namin sa bahay nag ilang araw bago kmi lumipat.. ano poe ang dapat ko poeng gawin d2??.. paki advaise naman poe ako.. tungkol d2 poe isuue n ito.. tnx poe at more power…

jenniffer…

Hello po.
Ano po ba ang legal “expiry of lease contract” kung wala pong contract in place? Considered “open-ended” po ba ito? Monthly? O Yearly?
Salamat po in-advance sa sasagot nito.
Rea

1st, you are wrong about NOT asking for OR for each payment, thus, you will never prove anything

2nd, you can just play hardball if you have the upperhand and your stomach can take it. what im trying to say is if the owner cant cut your electric and water line, you can stay up to 3 months by just telling her u cant pay. but be sure that you are ready by the 3rd month. Well, that is just one part of the story. Your guts must be able to take the harassment they will bring you, may it be mental or physical

Salamat po sa pag post ng mahalagang impormasyon na ito. Nais ko lang po sanang magtananong na kung wala po bang Permit to Operate ang tinitirhan namin na boarding house. Ano po ba ang mga legal na hakbang na pwede naming gawin ? Gusto ko lang po na makasiguro kung sa B.I.R ba dapat kami sumangguni o sa anong ahensya ba ng gobyerno kami dapat pumunta ?

Hi rosita,

The 2009 rent law is valid until Dec 31, 2013, so all the provisions therein shall remain so until the expiration date. However, please bear in mind that the law covers residential lease with monthly rent of not more than p10,000 (in NCR and HUC) and not more than P5,000 in other areas. So if your monthly rental is more than the ceiling provided, then your lease contract is not covered by this law. =)

meron po ba RA for commercial spaces rented?????
ang bilis mag increase eh!!

Hi Nina, as far as I know, free for all ang commercial spaces. In my opinion, hindi rin naman basta basta pwede mag taas ng rent kahit commercial space kasi yung tenent pwedeng lumipat sa mas reasonable na space, provided ideal din yung lilipatan, at siyempre hindi naman basta basta pwedeng lumipat, pwede lang yan pag mag expire na ang lease contract.

Im renting a 11,000 pesos monthly apartment. Correct me if im wrong, so I assume im excluded of this ACT.

QUESTION: does it mean that the lessor can increase my rent for more than 7% annually?

Since this ACT covers only for residential rents of upto 10,000 pesos.

Please advise

Thank you

Hi po, Meron po bang maximum ceiling or how many years lang sila pwedeng mag increase?

Many thanks>jay v

dear jay,

i am renting an apartment rowhouse here in cavite for 6 months now. i received an sms from the owner that she has found a buyer of the house and inform me that the place should be vacated. i am asking her if we could extend our rent until the end of the year, but she told me that i need to pay again a one month deposit and advance so i can retain the house. i’ve paid her a one month advance and deposit payment of 5,000 pesos. is it in the housing law that i should give another 5,000 pesos as an advance and deposit again? please help. she doesnt give an O.R. for every monthly payment. is it legal?

yours trully,

alecks

hindi po nag-issue ng official receipt ang landlord ko sa rent ng bahay nya

my landlord just write on a piece of paper stating that she reeived from me a certain amount as my monthly rentals on her apartment.is it legal?

where can i find the copy of house rental law

is it legal for the landlord to eject a tenant even i’m fully paid in rentals?

Hi, I am currently renting an apartment in the Metromanila area. According to the rent control act, it states that the yearly 7% restriction on rent increase is only applicable to housing that is below the TEN THOUSAND. My current rent is 12000/month.

My landlord is seeking to increase it by 15% when the contract ends this December. Are there any laws that prevents such drastic increases?

Please advice.

Hello,

If there is no period stated in the contract,
is it presumed that the conract is effective /valid for one year?

Is there a law that protects tenants from Landlords who insists that the tenants have to repaint the entire apartment before they move out.

We, the tenants have been renting at this apartment for a few years. The paint over time has gotten old and there are some marks from the sofa that is against it.

hi..what if the the lessor needs his property for their family purposes,and we are renting it for almost 8 years and paying it without delay..how long can be given to us to stay in that property?

I would like to ask if we are going to transfer to another boarding house and we ask the owner to get back the 1 month advance we had paid yet we have no agreement, can we still have our money back?

We had paid the 2 months advance and we decided to transfer on the following month prior to the deadline, can we have still rights to get our money back?

hi jay,
i went through this rent laws and alas i ran through yours and i appreciate how helpful you could be. thanks much. i want to ask something because i wanted to know if my lessor could just increase the rent of the condo unit i’m staying on a yearly basis to a 10% as stated in the contract. i rented the unit beginning april 2007 at 14,000 per month. now, i am renting the place at 17,000 per month and upon renewal this coming april, it’s suggesting an increase again. i would like to write the lessor a letter if he could just not increase this year but i want to attach some legal basis to it. Also, there are some major repairs to be done in my unit and left undone to this date. is there something i could indicate in my letter about this. please, send me your reply at niue_10@yahoo.com if it’s not much to ask. i don’t know how to follow you on this site, i’m not much of a techie. thank you so much and more power.

hi jay!

i just want to ask some few question, we have this landlady here in quezon city, we rented it for only a month (transient) since were just going to process our papers going abroad.. she has an advertisement in website stated that transient room for rent with aircon, (which i thot na kasama na sa rental fee) as far as i know and as far as there is an existing contract, it is a residential house for rent and she’s asking us to pay the monthly electricity for commercial rent which is 15.00 per kilo watt hr., na wala sa contract at iniinsist nya na cnbi nya yon verbaly,. sobrng daming hidden charges including sa wifi na 500 na lagi nyang pinapatay..please help..thank you

Hello po may karapatan po ba na kuhanin o pasukin ang inuupahan ko at nag inventory ssila ng barangay na wala ako. Ang isinulat lang niya ay iilan lang ang marami na tulad ng mga gamit sa parlor lahat ay ni wala kahit isa. kasi po noon una libre daw ang kabila doon ko daw ilagay ang gamit din noon di ako nag agree sa gusto niya na sa kanya pangalan ilagay sa business permit eh noon di ako pumayag doon na po siningil na niya ako at di ko ngah makuha ang gamit kasi noong una 12k lang utang ko din noong nagkita kami ulit sa barangay naging 30k na. Din sinabi ko bakit yon lang nakasulat sabi niya wala akong mga gamit eh nakita po ng mga kapitbahay at yong naging cutomer ko sa parlor sila po nagpapatunay. At pababayaran niya sa akin ang 30k pero kung ano lang sinulat nya ay yon lang makuha ko. Hindi naman tama yon magbayad ako ng 30k tapos ang ibang gamit lalo na ang pagkakitaan ko na pangparlor ay hindi niya ibigay.
Pinasok po niya ang inuupahan ko na wala ako at pinadlock na walang pasabi man lang. Ano po ang maikakaso ko sa kanya kung sakali magdemanda ako at may laban po ba ako sa gagawin kung pagsampa. Please i need help.

Hello po may karapatan po ba ang MAY ARI na kuhanin o pasukin ang inuupahan ko at nag inventory sila ng MAY ARI AT TAUHAN ng barangay na wala ako. Ang isinulat lang niya ay iilan lang ang marami na tulad ng mga gamit sa parlor lahat ay ni wala kahit isa. kasi po noon una libre daw ang kabila doon ko daw ilagay ang gamit din noon di ako nag agree sa gusto niya na sa kanya pangalan ilagay sa business permit eh noon di ako pumayag doon na po siningil na niya ako at di ko ngah makuha ang gamit kasi noong una 12k lang utang ko din noong nagkita kami ulit sa barangay naging 30k na. Din sinabi ko bakit yon lang nakasulat sabi niya wala akong mga gamit eh nakita po ng mga kapitbahay at yong naging cutomer ko sa parlor sila po nagpapatunay. At pababayaran niya sa akin ang 30k pero kung ano lang sinulat nya ay yon lang makuha ko. Hindi naman tama yon magbayad ako ng 30k tapos ang ibang gamit lalo na ang pagkakitaan ko na pangparlor ay hindi niya ibigay.
Pinasok po niya ang inuupahan ko na wala ako at pinadlock na walang pasabi man lang. Ano po ang maikakaso ko sa kanya kung sakali magdemanda ako at may laban po ba ako sa gagawin kung pagsampa. Please i need help.

Hello po….
patulong naman po.

Ganito po kasi yung nangyari…
Nag rent kami ng Bhouz ng kapatid ko, kaming dalwa sa isang kwarto. P2,400 per month then nag pa 1 month deposit ang may ari.
Ang bhouz po actually is sobrang init kasi walang ventilation, tas may bakery pa ng may-ari directly sa baba plus maiingay pa ang mga workers nya so basically di namin nagustuhan ang place sa 1st month kaya ng plan kaming umalis at lumipat.
Nagpaalam naman po kami na lilipat at sabi ng may – ari, ibibigay daw yung deposit pag umalis daw kami.
Ngayon po eto po ang naging problema, ayaw po ibigay ang deposit ng may ari ngayong wala na kami dun kasi lumipat na kami sa ibang boarding house.
Ang sabi po ng may -ari, wala daw syang ibibigay kasi more than one instance daw nakitulog at nakiligo ang friend ng kapatid ko sa bhouse / kwarto namin.

Tulong naman po…parang sobrang laki naman ng P2,400 para lang dun.

We need advice po kasi 1st time po naman nag boarding house.

Salamat po sa pag reply… or please paki email po ako sa crimsondawn24@gmail.com

so in effect, the law provided that lessors ask for 1 month advance and 2 months deposit to cover the 3 months non-payment before eviction… if the lessee were to damage property or not pay electricity/water, etc., the lessor is left with the shorter end of the stick. that’s a bit unfortunate…

you are definitely at a disadvantage here. i suggest having her sign a contract of lease ASAP.

please correct me if i’m wrong, but since you no longer have a contract, i believe the lessor need only to inform you at least 30 days in advance. it doesn’t matter what his reasons are. i have never heard of this 4 months free of charge if the owner if force evicting you.

the law stipulates that lessors may only raise the rent a maximum of 7% annually for the same lessee. you may consult a lawyer to find out what your options are.

if you have a contract, my opinion is that she can’t increase mid-way. only on contract renewal may she increase the rent by 7% max. please consult a lawyer to make sure.

Good Day! We are looking for some legal advice or articles with regards to the Rent Control Law then suddenly end up here in your page, and i was to admit that your post is really helpful. Just got an idea about my rights as a Lessee or Renter. This is how the story goes, we are renting an apartment somewhere here in Parañaque for almost 4 yrs. and to be honest, of course there are times that we were not able to pay the bills or the house rent on the exact due date, but of course we are asking for their kind consideration about that matters and promise to pay the bills before a month. Yesterday we just got a notice from the owner saying that we have to find another house to move-in to and the reason behind this was because of the late payment, they are forcing us to move-out on their premise within 15 days, and of course for being a simple person who’s earning is just hundred above the minimum rate, it will be very difficult for us to have enough money to pay for the new house that we will be renting, and its true! its none of their business anymore, but as far as i believe they should give us atleast 3months before forcing us to move-out from their premise. Now, the real deal is. . . i am not quite sure if this apartment is really registered or licensed? they dont even have a fire exit and fire extinguisher and when its past 12am the gate is already locked! they dont even giving us a duplicate key so in short, when its 12am we were all a prisoners on the said premise, but i heard rumors that they are just prioritizing tenants who are able to pay bills in advance or on time. Im thinking to ask for some legal advice on what should we do and to know our rights as a renter as well, from our Barangay or City Hall, but here in Parañaque this family is well known, they do have influences, connection to big people (specially in CITY HALL) that’s why im a thinking twice to do a step because of this. Hope you can gimme a helpful advice with regards to this matter and what should i do to fight for my rights. Hoping for you immediate response Mr. Jay Castillo.

just like to ask, who is responsible for the repairs of the apartment , is it the tenant or the owner? coz our units and three others already need a repair, one of the tenant already raised the concern to our landlady , and she said that the tenants should shoulder all repairs and if she will be shouldering the repair then the tenants should vacate the unit and she will just look for another tenant. need your help about this.

thank you.

[...] 1. Know the Philippine Rental Law. [...]

I hope that you can help us out. We are renting a house at Paranaque for p10,000 since 2009. The contract was for a year but had not renewed. We were asked to give 2 mos advance and 1 mo deposit. The 1 month then, I found out was for commission to those who referred the house to us. But last year, we were not able to pay so we consumed the 1 mo. 2 weeks ago, I was texted by lessor that we have to find another house for the reason that we have many dogs and she said I ddn’t inform her. I told her, right at the time I inquired this house, I already informed her I have dogs, and she said it’s ok. Now, after almost 3 years, she will reason out this. Besides, she said her son will also use this for personal reasons. My business is a canteen right before this subd and it will be very difficult for me to also transfer as we have no house helper and will spend another 2 mos adv and 1 mo deposit. That is very expensive as I am only earning from this canteen. And if the dogs as 1 of the reason, there is no prohibition on the law about this. I am paying in time and has 1 mo deposit unconsumed. So if there are anything destroyed, that can be offset from the deposit. How can we also restrict them from getting another tenant, as per law, they are not supposed to lease within the year upon vacancy. I know that the lessor is just giving alibis so she can increase rent once we vacate and get another series of advances should there be new tenant here. How can I get legal protection also? We are also looking for a house, but definitely not too soon as I have to save for another series of deposits. I cannot get such amount too soon.

Please help us out.

Thanks.Suzette

good am mr castillo, I would like to ask if my situation can pursue to a trial court with a high chance to fight for it. I have a contact for 2 years in a 1 unit commercial building costing 10,000 per month. however, my business started at september 22,2010 because the Unit is still under construction from the month of May, June July and early weeks of august… we started the business at september 22,2010 but the lessee wants to less my cash advance for the month of august, i diddn’t refused and i also agreed. they start lessing my 50,000 cash advance from august 22, 2010 to december 22, 2010.. I started to pay in cash basis from january 22, 2011 – April, 2011. After that i failed to pay the following wich is May 22. since that day they are harrasain us to leave the place,because we don’t have any deposit and the 50,000 already consumed. but the problem is the keep insisting that if we leave, our payables left will be cost 20,000 pesos. I believe, I only did not pay from may 22 so this coming june 22, 2011, my payble will only cost for 10,000 pesos. and when we are on the barangay,she is now adding my payables,

from the month of May, June, july of 2010 (the months that we start to construct the place , because we help her to finished the unit thats why I have 50,000 cash advance)

and

demanding for 20,000 pesos… 2 months delay for the month of April22 to May 22 and May,22 to june 22 OF 2011..

if you review from the above statement, from the agreed month, august 22 – december 22 of 2010 they terminated my 50,000 pesos…
thats why i gave her 10,000 cash monthly starts from january 22 up to aprill 22. I only failed to pay on may 22. Mr. castilo what can u say about my situation? thanks

sorry i stand correcte, i am the leasee and the owner is the lessor.. ^ ^

[...] Know the Philippine Rental Law. [...]

Hi good evening, I badly need your help, i hope you can give me an advice. Kasi nagrent po ako na may 1 year contract. Nakastate po sa contract na ang 1 month deposit and 1 month security deposit ay non-refundable kng hindi matatapos ang 1 year. But wala pong nkasulat don na ‘non-consumable’. Ngayon po nagpaalam ako sa kanila na iko-consume ko yong 1 month advance and 1 month deposit, at snabi ko n ang one month security deposit ay saka ko na kukunin after ng stay ko or after madeduct yong mga bills ko. But ang sabi lang sa akin na since hindi ko matapos yong 1 year contract ay hindi ko rin daw maconsume yong 1 month deposit…ano po ang dapat kong gawin dito? Makatarungan ba talaga to?

hi po. I need your advice po kasi po balak ko mag back out sa nakuha kung apartment. Nakapagbigay na po ako ng 10,000 deposit ayaw na po ng owner ng apartment ibalik. Wala pa po akong pinirmahan na kontrata sa kanya. At isa pa po ang inilagay nya sa resibi po ay reservation daw ung 10,000 na binigay ko ang rental fee lang po sa apartment na un ay 8 thousand per month. Ano po gagawin ko para makuha ko ang perang naibigay ko sa kanya. Di pa naman po ako nakakalipat doon.

Hi po, i need your advice po, kasi hindi na po ako tutloy sa kinuha kung apartment pero nakapagbigay na po ako ng deposit na 10k, balak ko sanang kunin pero ayaw ibalik sa akin ng landlady, wala pa naman kaming contrata na pinirmahan kasi di pa naman po ako nakakapaglipat. Sinasabi nya po reservation un eh may reservation po ba na mas mataas pa ang presyo sa rental ng apartment? 8k per month ang rental ng apartment na iyon ang naigigay ko sa kanya ay 10,000 php. Ano po dapat gawin ko. thanks hope to hear from u soon

ask ko lng po., dun sa penalties., kasi ung tennant ko po eh 8 months na po un utang., anu po dapat kong gawin??

Good Day Sir,

nangungupahan po kmi sa provicial city worth 5thou monthly. tanong ko lang po about sa maintenance. madami n pong loose paints yung loob ng apartment at faded n rin yung paints tapos may mga leaks na rin sa wall and kisame. sinabihan ko na po yung owner na ayusin pati repaint pero wala daw silang time. then, sinabi ko na ako na lang magpapaayos tapos ibawas na lang sa rent yung expenses pero ang sagot po nila hindi daw pwede yun. ano po ba ang rights ko dito?

Hi Jay,

Just wanted your opinion about this particular scenario. A hardware business rented the lot next to us containing a house which they have converted into a store. For some personal The owner decided to sever the contract with the original contract and inquired the intentions of the new renter. The owner and renter were not in agreement so the owner told the renter that he has 60 days to vacate the premises. They have moved most of their stuff off the property but a day after the given 60 days, his people were still there. We finally have to tell them that they still own the last month rent and to leave the area since we will be putting the padlock there. They left behind a delivery motorcycle with a sidecar and few hardware materials. Can we sell these in lieu of rent? How long should we wait until we can legally dispose of the property as new renter is about to come on board. Thank you for your assistance in advance.

Hello! I am in dire need of help regarding with our rental conditions. I am renting an apartment unit here around Malate with my sisters and my friends. I just want to know if there is a law here in our country for landlords who does not issue official receipts to their tenants and what are the penalties for this? They are just giving us receipts than can buy at bookstore. On the other hand, we don’t receive an official reading of our water bill. They are just simply issuing us a small piece of paper with the caretaker’s handwritten of water bill. It’s also questionable because it always drops on 1,400+ pesos, as if there’s an exact amount due of water bill every month. Now, we conclude that we don’t have our own water meter unlike they told us before. Please email me for this essential matter thank you very much!

sir. pano po kapag hindi pa naman tapos ung 3 months tapos sila pa ung maaangas at pinag mumura pa kame. tapos nang aaway pa. tama po ba yun sa sarile pa nameng bahay. hindi nanga po sila nakaka bayad tapos ganun pa sila. anu po ba ung dapat gawin. may LAW po ba para mag paalis sa bahay. kapag abuso at nangbabastos na sila? kailangan po ng agarang pag sagot. MARAMING SALAMAT PO

Hello everyone, thank you for the comments. However, if you are seeking legal advice, we cannot provide such, this is already beyond us.

If you want, you can still try to get free legal advice on this forum that I found: http://www.pinoylawyer.org/t5116-seek-legal-advice-asap-contract-of-lease

Please take note of the forum owner’s warning and disclaimer which I have pasted below and is similar to our own disclaimer.

“Warning and Disclaimer: I am not your lawyer; and you are not my client. With the limitations of an Internet forum, a thorough review of your concern is not possible. View my comments at YOUR OWN RISK. It is best to actually retain a lawyer for your individual concerns.”

Thank you for understanding.

We are living in one of our Uncle’s Apartments for 10 years now (FREE, no rent being paid). He is now asking us to vacate the premise since his son is going to use it. Is three months advance noticed applicable?

Mr. Soberano,
If I were you, I would find it in my heart to look for a place to transfer ASAP. Nakakahiya naman sa tiyuhin ninyo kung hihingi pa kayo ng 3 months notice. Pinatira na nga kayo ng libre tapos hihirit ka pa. Hanap na agad ng lilipatan…. NOW NA!!!

hindi ba kakapalan ng mukha yun? libre stay nyo sa apartment tapos gusto nyong mag-avail pa ng rent control law? libre na may sukli pa? try mo kayang simulan sa ganitong lines – “Tito, maraming salamat po sa free stay for 10yrs, cge po hahanap na po kami ng malilipatan”.

I am contemplating to buy a bank foreclose property but there is an existing tenant. It seems the tenant wouldn’t vacate the property. In case I pursue buying it, is there a way to evict the tenant from the property? What are the legal process needed? I always hear that it is difficult to removed the tenants from a foreclosed property. I hope you could give some inputs.

gud day sir,

hingi lng po sna ng advice,were renting aprtmnt her in taguig in d amount of 2,500,nw pmunta po d2 ung ktiwala ng may ari at sinabi po smin n mg increased dw po ung renta d2 s apprtmnt mgiging 3,000 n dw po ok lng pb un? kc po biglaan nmn ung pgtataas nya,eh masungit po ng konti ung landlady nmin,lgi po nyang sinasabi kung ayaw mo umalis ka d2 s apprtmnt ko.nag print npo ako ng republic act 9653 pra ipakita kpo s knya,ano pb ung pwede nming gwin.thnk u po s response!

I let two Koreans to rent my apartment, we don’t have paper contract, But we have oral contract that they will live here for 3months, I got one month deposit and one month advance, but they just stayed here for 10 days and they want to leave because they found another house, what should I do with the money?thank you

What should you do with the money? Will it help if I send you my bank account so you can deposit it?

Seriously though, I think you should ask the Koreans instead. I think it’s fair to keep one month’s worth of rent, and just return the 1 month deposit. It’s not your fault they want to leave, right? But if you feel it’s unfair to charge them a month’s rent for 10 days stay, then pro-rate the rent instead and return the rest.

You’re welcome Carmie.

Nag-aapply din po ba to sa mga landlords or landladies na hindi maibalik ang remaining balance sa renta? hindi ko po kasi makuha yun balance ko at ayaw nila ibalik ng walang dahilan…. Please help me.

Hello, i have a question, i am renting a studio type apartment in Makati area, actually our water bill is quite high for our consumption, because of this we contacted and asked the contact person of the building where we are renting. She told us that that includes utilities for the guards, but before she never told us about that. and also is it right for them to change the computation of the “WATER BILL” just to compensate for their expenditures (we only have a sub water meter). Isn’t it better to have a separate bill for utilities of the guards?? Is it right for them to do a computation like that without informing us before also MAYBE manipulating our water bill? tnx.

how about laws on commercial space for rent? meron po ba? thank you

ayaw ko na pong i-renew contract ng rent namin sa house. ang nasa contract namin eh non-refundable yung advance pero la nmn  nakasaad na non consummable daw ang deposit namin at yun yung ini insist nya… pwede po ba yun?

Commercial Rent Problem. I have a problem with our lessor, instead of renewing our lease contract, they opted to make it a new contract. Along with the new contract is the 10% increase in monthly rent, they are also asking for me to increase the deposit of 4 months + 10%. This is the first time I have encountered a lessor like this. Is this even legal? We are old lessee, is there a law that prevents abusive lessors?

hello po, tanong lang po.is it legal na taasan po ang renta namin ng 10% every year?hindi po kami pumirma sa huling contrata kasi po parang napakalaki naman ng increase nila. wala naman po silang ni rerepair sa bahay nila..huli po namaing usap ng landlord namin e mag tataas nanaman daw po ngaung taon ng another 10%. please help us undertsnad the law abt house rental….please email me at odi.asia maraming salamat po!
 

Covered ba ung unit ninyo ng rent control? Covered kayo kung less than 10k ang inyong rent. 7% lang ang pwedeng increase per year.

Hi Jamilla,
To my opinion, Sec 9 protects the tenant against unlawful act of the Lessor and it is effective immediately. No court order is needed. Without Sec 9, Lessors can freely eject tenants and “re-rent” to a new Lessee for higher amount.
Hope this helps.