A lease is a transfer of a right to enjoy immovable property for a certain time, or in perpetuity, in consideration of a price paid or promised (premium) or money/share of crops paid periodically (rent).
1. Notice to Quit (Section 106)
In the absence of a written contract or local usage, leases are terminated by a written notice to quit:
- Agricultural or Manufacturing Leases: Deemed to be from year to year, terminable by six months' notice expiring with the end of a year of the tenancy.
- Other Leases (Residential/Commercial): Deemed to be from month to month, terminable by fifteen days' notice expiring with the end of a month of the tenancy.
2. Rights and Liabilities of Lessor and Lessee (Section 108)
- Lessor's Liabilities: Disclose material latent defects in the property, deliver possession to the lessee, and ensure quiet enjoyment.
- Lessee's Rights: Right to accessions, right to terminate if property is destroyed by fire/flood, right to deduct cost of repairs, and right to remove fixtures after lease expiry.
- Lessee's Liabilities: Pay rent at the proper time, maintain the property in good condition, and restore possession upon determination.
3. Determination of Lease (Section 111)
A lease of immovable property determines (ends) by:
- Efflux of time (expiry of the agreed term).
- Happening of a specified conditional event.
- Merger (when the lessee acquires the lessor's superior ownership interest).
- Implied or Express Surrender.
- Forfeiture (if the lessee breaches an express condition, denies the lessor's title, or is adjudicated insolvent).