LAW OF OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS
Art. 228. Under the contract of lease the lessor is
bound to provide a property to the lessee for temporary use, and the
lessee undertakes to pay him a certain price.
Art. 229. The contract of lease may not be signed for
a period longer than 10 years.
Persons who are capable only of activities of simple management shall
not conclude contracts of lease for a
period longer than three years.
If the contract is made for a longer period it has validity for only
ten years, or three years, respectively.
Art. 230. Unless otherwise agreed, the lessor is bound
to hand over the property in a state which is
appropriate to the use it has been leased for.
If the property is not in the proper state, the lessee may claim its
repair or a proportionate reduction in lease
price, or may cancel the contract of lease. In all cases he is entitled
to claim damages.
The lessor shall not be liable for the defects of the leased property
which the lessee either knew of or could
easily detect if he had paid normal attention upon conclusion of the
contract, except if the defects are
dangerous to either his health or the health of the members of his household.
Art. 231. Small repairs related to damages which are
due to conventional use, such as dirty walls in the rooms, corrosion
of faucets and door locks, clogging of chimneys, etc., shall be at the
expense of the lessee. The repair of all other damages, if they are
not faultily caused by the lessee, shall be at the expense of the lessor.
If the lessor fails to make those repairs, the lessee shall have the
rights set forth in paragraph 2 of the preceding Art., however, he may
claim damages only if the repair is due to reasons the lessor is liable
for. If the lessee makes the repair himself with due diligence he is
entitled to deduct the cost of the repair from the rent. When the property
perishes completely or partially Art. 89 shall apply.
Art. 232. The lessee must use the property as specified
in the contract, and where the use is not specified,
in accordance with its purpose.
He shall pay the lease and the expenses related to the use of the property.
Art. 233. The lessee shall owe the return of the property.
He shall be liable for compensation for the
damage caused during the use of the property, unless he proves that
they are due to reasons he is not liable
for. He shall also be liable for compensation for damages caused by
members of his household or by his
sub-lessees. It shall be presumed that the property has been accepted
in a good state unless otherwise
proved.
The lessee must notify the lessor without delay of the damages and infringements
committed against the
leased property.
Art. 234. Unless otherwise agreed, the lessee may sublease
parts of the leased property without the lessor's
consent. But even in this case he is not discharged from his obligations
under the contract of lease.
The sublessee's rights shall not exceed the lessee's rights as to the
use of the property.
The sublessee shall be liable to the lessor only for payment of the
lease he himself owes upon bringing of
the action, without being entitled to plead the payments he has made
in advance.
Art. 235. The lessee of premises in a condominium must
observe the internal rules of the condominium. Otherwise he may be evicted
from the leased premises upon the motion of the Board of the condominium.
Art. 236. If after the expiration of the term of the
lease the use of the property continues with the knowledge of and without
objection on the part of the lessor, the contract shall be deemed extended
for an indefinite term.
If the lessee continues to use the property despite the objection of
the lessor, the former shall be liable for compensation and must fulfill
all obligations arising from the terminated contract of lease.
Art. 237. In case of a transfer of immovable property
the contract of lease shall remain valid with respect to
the transferee if it has been registered in the Property Register.
A contract of lease concluded before the transfer of the property which
has a verifiable date shall be
binding upon the transferee for the term stated therein, but not for
longer than one year from the date of
transfer. If it does not contain a verifiable date and the lessee is
in possession of the property, the contract
shall be binding upon the transferee as a contract of lease for an indefinite
term.
The lessor shall be liable for compensation to the lessee if the latter
is deprived of the use of the leased
property prior to the expiration of the term of the lease, this deprivation
being due to the transfer of the
property.
Art. 238. If the contract of lease has an indefinite
term, each of the parties may withdraw from it by means of a one month's
notice to the other party. However, if the lease is a daily one, a one
day's notice shall be sufficient.
Art. 239. Where the lease is created by an act of an authorised state
body the relationships between the parties shall be governed by the
rules set above unless a special law provides otherwise.
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