SECTION 2

Rights and Obligations of the Lessor and the Lessee

Article 1654. The lessor is obliged:

(1) To deliver the thing which is the object of the contract in such a condition as to
render it fit for the use intended;

(2) To make on the same during the lease all the necessary repairs in order to keep it
suitable for the use to which it has been devoted, unless there is a stipulation to the
contrary;

(3) To maintain the lessee in the peaceful and adequate enjoyment of the lease for the
entire duration of the contract. (1554a)

Article 1655. If the thing leased is totally destroyed by a fortuitous event, the lease is
extinguished. If the destruction is partial, the lessee may choose between a proportional
reduction of the rent and a rescission of the lease. (n)

Article 1656. The lessor of a business or industrial establishment may continue

engaging in the same business or industry to which the lessee devotes the thing leased,
unless there is a stipulation to the contrary. (n)

Article 1657. The lessee is obliged:

(1) To pay the price of the lease according to the terms stipulated;

(2) To use the thing leased as a diligent father of a family, devoting it to the use
stipulated; and in the absence of stipulation, to that which may be inferred from the
nature of the thing leased, according to the custom of the place;

(3) To pay expenses for the deed of lease. (1555)

Article 1658. The lessee may suspend the payment of the rent in case the lessor fails to
make the necessary repairs or to maintain the lessee in peaceful and adequate
enjoyment of the property leased. (n)

Article 1659. If the lessor or the lessee should not comply with the obligations set forth
in articles 1654 and 1657, the aggrieved party may ask for the rescission of the contract
and indemnification for damages, or only the latter, allowing the contract to remain in
force. (1556)
Article 1660. If a dwelling place or any other building intended for human habitation is
in such a condition that its use brings imminent and serious danger to life or health, the
lessee may terminate the lease at once by notifying the lessor, even if at the time the
contract was perfected the former knew of the dangerous condition or waived the right
to rescind the lease on account of this condition. (n)

Article 1661. The lessor cannot alter the form of the thing leased in such a way as to
impair the use to which the thing is devoted under the terms of the lease. (1557a)

Article 1662. If during the lease it should become necessary to make some urgent
repairs upon the thing leased, which cannot be deferred until the termination of the
lease, the lessee is obliged to tolerate the work, although it may be very annoying to him,
and although during the same, he may be deprived of a part of the premises.

If the repairs last more than forty days the rent shall be reduced in proportion to the
time – including the first forty days – and the part of the property of which the lessee
has been deprived.

When the work is of such a nature that the portion which the lessee and his family need
for their dwelling becomes uninhabitable, he may rescind the contract if the main
purpose of the lease is to provide a dwelling place for the lessee. (1558a)

Article 1663. The lessee is obliged to bring to the knowledge of the proprietor, within
the shortest possible time, every usurpation or untoward act which any third person may
have committed or may be openly preparing to carry out upon the thing leased.

He is also obliged to advise the owner, with the same urgency, of the need of all repairs
included in No. 2 of article 1654.

In both cases the lessee shall be liable for the damages which, through his negligence,
may be suffered by the proprietor.

If the lessor fails to make urgent repairs, the lessee, in order to avoid an imminent
danger, may order the repairs at the lessor’s cost. (1559a)

Article 1664. The lessor is not obliged to answer for a mere act of trespass which a
third person may cause on the use of the thing leased; but the lessee shall have a direct
action against the intruder.

There is a mere act of trespass when the third person claims no right whatever. (1560a)
Article 1665. The lessee shall return the thing leased, upon the termination of the lease,
as he received it, save what has been lost or impaired by the lapse of time, or by
ordinary wear and tear, or from an inevitable cause. (1561a)

Article 1666. In the absence of a statement concerning the condition of the thing at the
time the lease was constituted, the law presumes that the lessee received it in good
condition, unless there is proof to the contrary. (1562)

Article 1667. The lessee is responsible for the deterioration or loss of the thing leased,
unless he proves that it took place without his fault. This burden of proof on the lessee
does not apply when the destruction is due to earthquake, flood, storm or other natural
calamity. (1563a)

Article 1668. The lessee is liable for any deterioration caused by members of his
household and by guests and visitors. (1564a)

Article 1669. If the lease was made for a determinate time, it ceases upon the day fixed,
without the need of a demand. (1565)

Article 1670. If at the end of the contract the lessee should continue enjoying the thing
leased for fifteen days with the acquiescence of the lessor, and unless a notice to the
contrary by either party has previously been given, it is understood that there is an
implied new lease, not for the period of the original contract, but for the time established
in articles 1682 and 1687. The other terms of the original contract shall be revived.
(1566a)

Article 1671. If the lessee continues enjoying the thing after the expiration of the
contract, over the lessor’s objection, the former shall be subject to the responsibilities of
a possessor in bad faith. (n)

Article 1672. In case of an implied new lease, the obligations contracted by a third
person for the security of the principal contract shall cease with respect to the new
lease. (1567)

Article 1673. The lessor may judicially eject the lessee for any of the following causes:

(1) When the period agreed upon, or that which is fixed for the duration of leases under
articles 1682 and 1687, has expired;

(2) Lack of payment of the price stipulated;

(3) Violation of any of the conditions agreed upon in the contract;

(4) When the lessee devotes the thing leased to any use or service not stipulated which
causes the deterioration thereof; or if he does not observe the requirement in No. 2 of
article 1657, as regards the use thereof.

The ejectment of tenants of agricultural lands is governed by special laws. (1569a)

Article 1674. In ejectment cases where an appeal is taken the remedy granted in article
539, second paragraph, shall also apply, if the higher court is satisfied that the lessee’s
appeal is frivolous or dilatory, or that the lessor’s appeal is prima facie meritorious. The
period of ten days referred to in said article shall be counted from the time the appeal is
perfected. (n)

Article 1675. Except in cases stated in article 1673, the lessee shall have a right to
make use of the periods established in articles 1682 and 1687. (1570)

Article 1676. The purchaser of a piece of land which is under a lease that is not
recorded in the Registry of Property may terminate the lease, save when there is a
stipulation to the contrary in the contract of sale, or when the purchaser knows of the
existence of the lease.

If the buyer makes use of this right, the lessee may demand that he be allowed to gather
the fruits of the harvest which corresponds to the current agricultural year and that the
vendor indemnify him for damages suffered.

If the sale is fictitious, for the purpose of extinguishing the lease, the supposed vendee
cannot make use of the right granted in the first paragraph of this article. The sale is
presumed to be fictitious if at the time the supposed vendee demands the termination
of the lease, the sale is not recorded in the Registry of Property. (1571a)

Article 1677. The purchaser in a sale with the right of redemption cannot make use of
the power to eject the lessee until the end of the period for the redemption. (1572)

Article 1678. If the lessee makes, in good faith, useful improvements which are suitable
to the use for which the lease is intended, without altering the form or substance of the
property leased, the lessor upon the termination of the lease shall pay the lessee one-
half of the value of the improvements at that time. Should the lessor refuse to
reimburse said amount, the lessee may remove the improvements, even though the
principal thing may suffer damage thereby. He shall not, however, cause any more
impairment upon the property leased than is necessary.
With regard to ornamental expenses, the lessee shall not be entitled to any
reimbursement, but he may remove the ornamental objects, provided no damage is
caused to the principal thing, and the lessor does not choose to retain them by paying
their value at the time the lease is extinguished. (n)

Article 1679. If nothing has been stipulated concerning the place and the time for the
payment of the lease, the provisions or article 1251 shall be observed as regards the
place; and with respect to the time, the custom of the place shall be followed. (1574)