Any legal eagles out there??
I live on Boracay island in the Philippines, and on April 4th the government ordered the island closed to tourists effective April 26th (3 weeks notice!!). Naturally, the entire island is economically F**CKED.
Duterte orders closure of Boracay starting April 26
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/04/1802882/duterte-orders-closure-boracay-starting-april-26
So here's a question:
A friend has rented a space in a commercial building for 3 years. They gave 6 months deposit and pay 6 months rent every half year. Don't pay rent on time, you forfeit the deposit.
As Boracay is "closing" on April 26th, there will be no tourists, and not much reason to keep the bar open.
It's also entirely possible that the building needs to close for demolition soon. In fact, likely.
The next rent payment is due on May 15th. The landlord is asking for the 6 months rent. The landlord has indicated that if the tenant doesn't pay, it means the lease is broken and the tenant loses the deposit.
I haven't seen the contract, but all of this kind of thing (the government closes the island, the government orders modifications to the building starting on June 1st) is probably not in the contract.
Does the tenant have any rights to anything if, on May 15th, there are no tourists, but the establishment can stay open, and the decision about forcing the building to close to renovate is not yet made? The tenant is worried that if she pays 6 months rent, and then government orders the building closed for renovation on May 16th, she won't get her rent back, and the floor layout and everything about the space may change by the time it opens.
What do you think? The landlord seems to be unreasonable, but lots of people are suddenly financially screwed since the closure was only announced with 3 weeks notice. What legal rights would the tenant have in the US in an odd situation like this? |
