1. Is the house rent reduced or exempted during the epidemic?
Only force majeure can reduce or exempt the liability, as stipulated in the Civil Code (202 1 to 1 implementation), that is, "if the contract cannot be performed due to force majeure, the liability shall be exempted in part or in whole according to the influence of force majeure, unless otherwise stipulated by law. If force majeure occurs after the delay in performance, the parties concerned cannot be exempted from their responsibilities. Force majeure as mentioned in this Law refers to objective circumstances that cannot be foreseen, avoided and overcome. " The epidemic itself is difficult for the parties to reasonably foresee and avoid, but not all situations can constitute force majeure. When the parties can't overcome the epidemic and cause obstacles to the performance of the lease contract, it should be considered as a force majeure event in the legal sense. In view of whether the lessee can claim rent relief, it is necessary to analyze whether the epidemic situation constitutes force majeure and whether it is obviously unfair to the lessee to continue to pay rent under specific circumstances.
II. Relevant policies and regulations
According to the requirements of the Notice on Further Strengthening Financial Support for Prevention and Control in novel coronavirus, financial institutions should appropriately tilt the credit policy, flexibly adjust the repayment arrangements of personal credit such as housing mortgage and credit card, and reasonably postpone the repayment period for those who are hospitalized or isolated due to new pneumonia, those who need isolated observation due to epidemic prevention and control, those who participate in epidemic prevention and control, and those who temporarily lose their income sources due to the epidemic. Personal business guarantee loans infected with new pneumonia can be extended for one year and continue to enjoy financial discount support. Financial institutions should give priority to customers infected with new pneumonia or damaged by the epidemic, appropriately expand the scope of responsibility and make full compensation. During the epidemic period, the provincial demonstration base for small and micro enterprises' entrepreneurial innovation reduced or exempted the rent of small and medium-sized enterprises' workshops, and the provincial finance gave subsidies according to no more than 50% of the total rent reduction or exemption.
Rent reduction and exemption during the epidemic period is caused by force majeure factors stipulated in the labor contract law. The determination of the relevant situation requires the lessee to legally apply to the lessor and deal with the actual rent payment, otherwise the relevant personnel need to be investigated for breach of contract.
Third, how to calculate the rent during the epidemic prevention and control period?
The calculation standard of rent during the epidemic needs to be communicated with the landlord. The epidemic situation is force majeure, and the lessee may request to reduce part of the rent, fulfill the collateral obligation of the notice, and avoid the loss from expanding.
However, the purpose of the residential housing lease contract is to occupy the house. If the epidemic situation does not lead to the failure to achieve the purpose of the contract, the lessor shall not bear the responsibility for rent reduction and exemption according to law. Naturally, it is not a commercial facade, shops and office buildings, which can be compared with it. Generally speaking, the Bank of China will not reduce the mortgage payment because of the epidemic, but it can apply for deferred payment.
The relevant contents of the Civil Code (202 1 to 1 Implementation) stipulate that if one party fails to perform the contract due to force majeure, it shall be exempted from liability in part or in whole according to the influence of force majeure, unless otherwise stipulated by law. If the contract cannot be performed due to force majeure, the other party shall be informed in time to reduce the possible losses to the other party and provide proof within a reasonable time.
If force majeure occurs after the delay in performance, the parties concerned shall not be exempted from the liability for breach of contract.
4. What should I do if the rent expires during the epidemic?
Rent reduction or termination can be negotiated. Affected by the epidemic, some tenants, especially migrant workers, can't return to their workplaces to use the rented houses normally, and tenants can request partial rent reduction according to the relevant contract terms of "force majeure"; If the lessee or lessor thinks that the loss of continuing to perform the lease contract is too great and requests to terminate the lease contract in advance, both parties may choose to terminate the performance of the lease contract by paying liquidated damages to the other party according to the specific circumstances.
Legal basis:
Article 590 of the Civil Code: If the contract cannot be performed due to force majeure, the liability shall be exempted in part or in whole according to the influence of force majeure, except as otherwise provided by law. If the contract cannot be performed due to force majeure, the other party shall be informed in time to reduce the possible losses to the other party and provide proof within a reasonable time.
If force majeure occurs after the delay in performance, the parties concerned shall not be exempted from the liability for breach of contract.