Author: Beijing Yingtai Law Firm
[Case Playback].
The defendant Company H was engaged in real estate brokerage and housing leasing businesses. On March 21, 2021, Company H (Party A) and the plaintiff Jiang Moumou (Party B) signed a Housing Lease Contract (No. 000469), stipulating that Party A would lease Room A, Room 206, Building X, Jinqiao Huafu Community, J District, N City, to Party B for use, and the lease period would be from March 22, 2021 to July 15, 2022The rent is 1,100 yuan per month, with the first installment of 3,300 yuan paid on March 22, 2021, and the second installment of 3,300 yuan paid on May 15 of the same year, and so onParty A collects Party B's deposit of 1,100 yuan, and the cleaning, maintenance, broadband, and property management fees in public areas are 1,056 yuan. There are other things that are agreed in the contract. After the contract was signed, Company H handed over the house to Jiang Moumou for use, and Jiang Moumou paid a rent of 3,300 yuan, a property management fee of 1,056 yuan, and a deposit of 1,100 yuan, totaling 5,456 yuan, and Company H issued a receipt on March 28, 2021. On May 16, 2021, Jiang Moumou paid another 1,100 yuan in rent.
In April 2021, Jiang's wife Chen Moumou (pregnant) became unwell and went to Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, Eastern Theater General Hospital and other medical institutions for examination, and was diagnosed as chronic xxx. Jiang Moumou believed that the above-mentioned diseases were related to excessive indoor formaldehyde, and purchased formaldehyde test strips for testing, and the results exceeded the standard, so he contacted the salesman of Company H to request to return the lease. During the negotiation between the two parties, Han Moumou, a staff member of Company H, contacted Jiang Moumou on June 1, 2021 to urge the payment of the remaining rent of the second installment, and Jiang Moumou asked Company H to cooperate with him to find an institution with corresponding qualifications to conduct formaldehyde testing, and Han Moumou replied, "What kind of formaldehyde do you have when you rent a house, you can buy a house and live in it yourself if you have this condition", "This is the first time I have heard that there is a formaldehyde test for renting a house", "You can live if you love it, and you will not move out at night, **Find tenants who don't care about these formaldehyde and acetaldehyde".
After unsuccessful negotiations with Company H, Jiang Moumou commissioned Company R to test the air quality in the house involved in the case. On June 2, 2021, Company R visited for sampling. On June 7, 2021, Company R issued the (2021) Su Zhijian (Muluhuan) Zi No. (202106090) test report, and the result was a formaldehyde detection value of 0213 mg cubic meters, benzene detection value 0035 mg cubic meters, toluene detection value 0062 mg cubic meter, xylene detection value 0085 milligrams cubic meter, total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detection value of 0863 mg cubic meters, formaldehyde, total volatile organic compounds TVOC unqualified. After Jiang Moumou obtained the above-mentioned test report, he moved out of the rented house and informed Company H, and mailed the door key back to Company H.
It was also found that according to the "Indoor Air Quality Standard" (GB T 18883-2002) jointly issued by the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the former Ministry of Health and the State Environmental Protection Administration, the formaldehyde content in indoor air should be less than or equal to 010 mg cubic meters, the total volatile organic compound TVOC content should be less than or equal to 060 mg cubic meters. Company R has China Metrology Certification (CMA) certificate (No. 17XXX0167) and has the corresponding environmental and environmental testing qualifications. In the end, a court ruled that: 1. The Housing Lease Contract (No. 000469) between the plaintiff Jiang and the defendant Company H was terminated on July 3, 2021. 2. Within 10 days from the date on which the judgment took legal effect, the defendant Company H returned the plaintiff Jiang Moumou's rent of 4,400 yuan, property fee of 1,056 yuan, and deposit of 1,100 yuan, totaling 6,556 yuan.
YingtaiLawyers on Law].
The core obligation of the lessor is to provide the lessee with leased property that is in line with the purpose of the lease and has use value. The lessor's provision of leased houses with harmful gases exceeding the standard infringes on the tenant's personality rights with safety and health as the content, and makes the tenant's leasing purpose unable to be realized, so the relevant premises shall not be used for rent, and the rented houses shall not have the right to collect rent, and the lessee shall have the right to demand the termination of the contract and the refund of all payments.
In this case, the defendant Company H, as an enterprise engaged in the housing leasing business, should take the initiative to test and control the indoor air quality to make it comply with the relevant national environmental protection standards. In the case that Company H did not take the initiative to conduct indoor air quality testing and refused to cooperate with the lessee in conducting air quality testing, the plaintiff Jiang XX had the right to entrust a qualified testing agency to conduct the test on its own, and Company H had no right to refuse to recognize the test results on the grounds that Jiang XX had conducted unilateral testing. According to the test report submitted by Jiang, the formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) in the house rented by Company H seriously exceeded the standard, which may cause serious health damage to the user. Although there is no conclusive evidence to prove that Jiang's wife's illness was caused by the above-mentioned harmful gases, it cannot be ruled out that it is related to factors such as the weakening of immunity caused by excessive harmful gases. Although Company H also provided the test report of the same institution to prove that the indoor air quality met the standards, its detection time was long after Jiang Moumou's test, and according to the volatile nature of the gas, the corresponding harmful gas detection value may gradually decrease with time, temperature, ventilation, treatment, etc., and it cannot be proved that the air quality during Jiang Moumou's residence is qualified. And judging from the detection value of the second report, even in the winter when the interval of nearly half a year and the volatility of harmful gases is weak, the formaldehyde value is close to the upper limit of the national standard, which also proves the correctness of the conclusion of the first report.
Accordingly, the lease contract in this case should be terminated. Jiang's claim for termination of the contract was delivered to Company H on July 3, 2021 through a specially invited mediation organization by the court, so it should be determined that the housing lease contract was terminated on the same day. After the contract was terminated, Company H should refund all the money paid by Jiang Moumou of 6,556 yuan.
YingtaiLawyer reminds].
The leased property provided by the lessor to the lessee shall be in accordance with the purpose of the lease. If the lessor provides a house with harmful gases exceeding the standard, endangering the life and health safety of the tenant, and making it impossible for the tenant to achieve the purpose of the lease, the lessee has the right to request the termination of the contract and the return of the rent, deposit and other payments.