Relevant Provisions

 

Civil Code Article 246	A contract is void if it is based on an impossible obligation. However, if the impossibility can be removed, and the parties intended to perform the obligation after the impossibility is removed, the contract remains valid.
Civil Code Article 450	If the lease is fixed-term, the lease relationship is terminated upon the expiration of the term. If the term is not fixed, either party may terminate the contract at any time. However, if there is a custom beneficial to the lessee, such custom shall prevail.

 

Facts and Reasons

Our client had leased out a store space for use as a restaurant, signing a lease agreement with the opposing party (the tenant). The agreement clearly stipulated that the store was only to be used as a restaurant. After confirming the current condition and handing over the property, the tenant was responsible for renovations. Unexpectedly, the tenant refused to pay rent, citing reasons such as water leakage and violations of fire safety regulations, claiming they could not proceed with the renovations. As a result, the property remained unused for several years. During this period, our client sent multiple notices via certified mail and attorney letters, but was unable to recover the rent.

(Note: To protect the client's interests, certain case details and judgment images have been redacted and modified. For a full review of the case, please refer to the Judicial Yuan's judgment database.)

Judgment

With the assistance of our firm's attorneys in litigation, the court ruled in favor of our client (the appellee). The court, based on the lease agreement and Article 246 of the Civil Code, granted our client's request for rent payment and allowed interest to accrue at an annual rate of 5% until the debt was paid off. The original judgment was found to be appropriate. The appellant's (the tenant’s) argument that the original judgment was incorrect and should be overturned was rejected, and the case was finalized. Our client successfully recovered the rent.

Attorneys:Attorneys Vincent Huang、Webber Huang、Hsuan Su