This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2006-12-06 |
VELASCO, JR., J. |
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| It is true that the landlord might, upon the failure of the tenant to pay the stipulated rents, consider the contract broken and demand immediate possession of the rented property, thus converting a legal possession into illegal possession. Upon the other hand, however, the landlord might conclude to give the tenant credit for the payment of the rents and allow him to continue indefinitely in the possession of the property. In other words, the landlord might choose to give the tenant credit from month to month or from year to year for the payment of their rent, relying upon his honesty of his financial ability to pay the same. During such period the tenant would not be in illegal possession of the property and the landlord could not maintain an action of desahucio until after he had taken steps to convert the legal possession into illegal possession. A mere failure to pay the rent in accordance with the contract would justify the landlord, after the legal notice, in bringing an action of desahucio. The landlord might, however, elect to recognize the contract as still in force and sue for the sums due under it. It would seem to be clear that the landlord might sue for the rents due and [unpaid, without electing to terminate the contract of tenancy;] [w]hether he can declare the contract of tenancy broken and sue in an action desahucio for the possession of the property and in a separate actions for the rents due and damages, etc.[14] The concept of possession by tolerance in unlawful detainer cases was further refined and applied in pertinent cases submitted for decision by 1966. The rule was articulated as follows:Where despite the lessee's failure to pay rent after the first demand, the lessor did not choose to bring an action in court but suffered the lessee to continue occupying the land for nearly two years, after which the lessor made a second demand, the one-year period for bringing the detainer case in the justice of the peace court should be counted not from the day the lessee refused the first demand for payment of rent but from the time the second demand for rents and surrender of possession was not complied with.[15] In Calubayan v. Pascual, a case usually cited in subsequent decisions on ejectment, the concept of possession by tolerance was further elucidated as follows: | |||||