Guangzhou lawyer Zhang Jing answered: Not necessarily, the law does not clearly stipulate whether to pay the rent of the rent-free period after the contract is invalid, but only stipulates that "after the contract is invalid, one party can claim compensation for the losses incurred by the other party", so theoretically speaking, the rent loss during the rent-free period should also be regarded as the loss of the lessor, and the lessee can be required to pay half. However, in practice, the judge will decide whether to pay the rent during the rent-free period according to the specific facts of the case and in accordance with the principle of fairness and reasonableness, and also consider the length of the lease period, the number and amount of the rent-free period, and whether the compensation for other losses is supported. In the following case, after the lease contract of the factory was invalid, the landlord sued the tenant for the use of the two-month rent-free period, and the court held that the tenant had actually been renovating during the rent-free period and had not used the premises normally, so it ruled that half of the rent-free period should be paid by the tenant.
Excerpt from the verdict:
On the issue of whether Zheng tenants should pay the occupancy fee for the rent-free period in full. According to the aforementioned determination of this court, both the company and the Zheng tenant were at fault for the invalidity of the contract, and the Zheng tenant only occupied the factory for 2 months, and the evidence showed that the Zheng tenant was still purchasing items and carrying out preliminary renovation during the rent-free period in August 2021, and was actually unable to use the factory normally. Therefore, taking into account the above circumstances, the court has the discretion to order the tenant to pay 50% of the rent-free period occupation fee according to the rent standard agreed in the contract