On February 2 this year, Li Ming, a white-collar worker who came to Hainan to work, rented a villa on Ocean Flower Island No. 3 through an intermediary company for one month, with a rent of 20,000 yuan and a deposit of 5,000 yuan.
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The parties agreed in the contract that the tenant must do a good job of cleaning the house before quitting the lease, and if the contract is terminated early, the rent will not be refunded as compensation to the lessor.
After Li Ming lived for 10 days, he applied to the intermediary company to check out early because he needed to go back to his hometown, and the intermediary company agreed, but asked Li Ming to pay the remaining rent and utility bills first, and then arrange for staff to come to inspect the house.
Li Ming felt that it was reasonable, so he paid 150,000 yuan of rent and 500 yuan of water and electricity bills, waiting for the staff to come to inspect the house.
On February 13, Xiao Wang, a staff member of the intermediary company, came to Li Ming's rented villa, and frowned as soon as he entered the door, saying that Li Ming had not done a good job of hygiene, there was dust on the floor, cups on the table, and towels in the toilet, and asked Li Ming to clean up the hygiene, otherwise the deposit would not be refunded.
Li Ming felt that Xiao Wang's request was excessive, he said that he had already cleaned it up, but left some daily necessities, which were normal and did not affect the house inspection, and there were no specific standards for hygiene in the contract, just said that he wanted to do a good job of hygiene, and he had done it.
Xiao Wang did not listen to Li Ming's explanation, insisted that Li Ming clean it again, and said that if Li Ming did not obey, he would call the police, saying that Li Ming had damaged the house and asked for compensation.
Li Ming was angry and felt that Xiao Wang was deliberately making things difficult for himself and wanted to take advantage of himself, so he also called the police ** and asked ** to deal with it.
* Quickly arrived at the scene, learned about the situation of both parties, believed that this was a civil dispute, and suggested that the two parties negotiate to settle it, or file a lawsuit with the court.
Li Ming and Xiao Wang were unwilling to give in and refused to give in to each other, and in the end, ** could only report the matter to the Danzhou Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, which investigated and dealt with it.
On February 16, the Danzhou Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development notified the investigation and handling: the two parties agreed in the contract that the tenant must do a good job of cleaning the house before quitting the lease, and the bureau has interviewed the person in charge of the intermediary company, and issued a "Notice of Correction", requiring the intermediary company to standardize its operation, not to arbitrarily detain the tenant's deposit, nor to make unreasonable demands on the tenant, otherwise it will be punished according to law.
At the same time, the bureau also reminded tenants that when signing a lease contract, they should carefully read the terms of the contract, and raise objections to the disputed content in a timely manner, or refuse to sign it, so as not to bring unnecessary trouble to themselves.
From a legal point of view, how should we look at this?
1.The hygiene clause in the contract is valid, but not mandatory, because it does not specify the specific criteria for hygiene and the manner of acceptance.
Article 1048 of the Civil Code stipulates that the general conditions for the validity of a contract are that the parties have full capacity for civil conduct, express their intentions truthfully, and do not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations, and do not violate public order and good customs.
Li Ming and the intermediary company agreed in the contract that the tenant must do a good job of cleaning the house before quitting the lease, and this clause meets the general conditions of the contract and is valid, and both parties should abide by it.
However, this clause does not clearly stipulate the specific standards and acceptance methods of hygiene, it is only a vague concept, and different people may have different understandings and requirements, therefore, this clause is not mandatory, and cannot be used as a basis for seizing the deposit, nor can it be used as a basis for pursuing responsibility.
2.The act of the intermediary company is illegal because it infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of the tenant and should bear the corresponding legal responsibility.
Article 1114 of the Civil Code stipulates that the lessor shall, in accordance with the agreement, deliver the leased immovable property to the lessee for use, guarantee the normal right of use of the lessee, and shall not refuse to renew the lease or increase the rent without reason, and shall not withhold the lessee's deposit without reason.
The intermediary company, as the first person of the lessor, shall abide by the obligations of the lessor, deliver the house to Li Ming for use in accordance with the contract, ensure Li Ming's normal right to use, and shall not withhold Li Ming's deposit without reason, nor make unreasonable demands on Li Ming.
Xiao Wang, a staff member of the intermediary company, demanded that Li Ming clean the house again, otherwise he would not return the deposit, and threatened to call the police, saying that Li Ming had damaged the house and demanded compensation.
3.The tenant's behaviour is reasonable because he has fulfilled his contractual obligations and should be protected by law.
Article 1115 of the Civil Code stipulates that the lessee shall pay rent in accordance with the agreement, use the immovable property in accordance with the agreed purpose, and shall not change the structure or use of the immovable property, shall not sublease or lend the immovable property, and shall not damage the rights and interests or value of the immovable property.
As the tenant, Li Ming has paid the rent and water and electricity bills in accordance with the contract, used the house according to the agreed purpose, did not change the structure or use of the house, did not sublease or lend the house, and did not damage the rights or value of the house.
Before Li Ming quit the lease, he had already done a good job of cleaning the house, leaving no garbage or stains, but only some daily necessities, which did not affect the sanitary condition of the house, nor did they belong to the appendages of the house, and should not affect the house inspection.
Li Ming's behavior has fulfilled his contractual obligations and should be protected by law, and the intermediary company should not withhold his deposit without reason, nor should it make unreasonable demands on him.
This case reflects some problems in the rental market, such as the irregular operation of intermediary companies, the unclear terms of the lease contract, and the insufficient protection of the rights and interests of tenants.
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