Can the landlord evict the tenant if the agent runs away and fails to collect the rent?

The landlord rents the house to the agency, and the agency pays the rent every month. The agency then sublets the house to the tenant at a low price, charging the tenant more than a year's rent at a time, and then runs away with the money. Landlords who fail to receive rent force tenants to leave their rental properties. Angry tenants are taking their landlord to court after paying rent for more than a year but not being able to move in. Recently, the Tianxin District People's Court and Changsha Intermediate People's Court of Changsha City, Hunan Province ruled that the lessor should compensate the lessee for prepaid rent and interest.

The middleman escaped, and the landlord kicked the tenant out

He Qiaoling (pseudonym) is from Shaoyang, Hunan. A few years ago, she bought a house on Zhutang West Road, Tianxin District, Changsha City. As she was temporarily unable to contact her, she authorized her daughter Liu Xuemei (pseudonym) to sign a house rental contract with Changsha Yiju Mingshe Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yiju Mingshe Company) on May 15, 2020, agreeing that He Qiaoling would transfer the house in her name to It is rented to Yiju Mingshe Company at a monthly rent of 1,700 yuan. He Qiaoling authorizes Yiju to operate its house, including but not limited to signing a house rental contract. According to the contract, Yiju will pay rent on a monthly basis. On the day the contract was signed, Yiju paid a rent of 1,700 yuan and a house deposit of 1,700 yuan, totaling 3,400 yuan.

On the 21st of the same month, He Qiaoling issued a power of attorney entrusting E-Ju with full authority to handle the house. Agency authority includes but is not limited to decoration, signing a house rental contract with the lessee, and collecting house rent on behalf of the lessee. The entrustment period is more than 3 years, from May 24, 2020 to September 7, 2023.

When 23-year-old Xiao Siyuan (pseudonym) from Chenzhou, Hunan Province first started working in Changsha, he was eager to rent an apartment. He took a fancy to the many rental information in He Qiaoling's house.

When Xiao Siyuan negotiated the rent with E-House, E-House staff said that the monthly rent may be slightly lower than the market price, but it must be paid at once for more than one year. After some bargaining, the two parties finally set the monthly rent at 1,150 yuan. After price comparison, the price was much lower than the rent in the same area, so Xiaosiyuan promised to pay 13 months' rent at a time.

On May 25, 2020, Yiju signed a house rental contract with Xiao Siyuan, agreeing on the house owners He Qiaoling and Liu Xuemei. E-Ju rented the house to Xiao Siyuan from May 28, 2020 to August 27, 2021, with a lease term of 1,150 yuan per month. If Xiao Siyuan fails to pay the rent as agreed, changes the use of the house without authorization, sublets or renovates the house, Yiju has the right to unilaterally terminate the contract. After the contract was signed, Xiao Siyuan paid Yiju a deposit of 1,000 yuan, a 13-month rent of 14,950 yuan, and a total of 15,950 yuan. Later, Xiao Siyuan, who got the key to the house, moved into the house.

On June 24, 2020, Yiju paid the rent as agreed, but Liu Xuemei did not receive the rent. Over the next few days, Liu Xuemei contacted E-House by phone, but she was unable to get in touch. When Liu Xuemei arrived at the E-House location, she found that the company had long been empty.

"The agent ran away. Fortunately, the house is still there. Since I haven't received the rent, I will take the house back." Liu Xuemei then came to the rented house, explained the situation to Xiao Siyuan, and asked Xiao Siyuan vacated the house. Xiao Siyuan took out the lease contract and told Liu Xuemei that he would have sex for 13 months at a time and would not agree to move out of the house.

In the following period, Liu Xuemei cut off the power supply and issued a forced demolition agreement requiring Xiao Siyuan to move out of the rental house within a week. Subsequently, both parties pursued losses from Yiju through legal procedures. Finally, Xiao Siyuan had to move out of the rental house on September 12, 2020.

Who is responsible for the dispute through legal recourse

The landlord expressly authorizes the intermediary to look after the property. He paid 13 months' rent to the agent and was evicted by the landlord less than four months after moving in. Xiao Siyuan became more and more angry. On January 4, 2021, a petition took He Qiaoling and Liu Xuemei to court, asking the court to order the two defendants to compensate him for the 10,925 yuan in lost rent.

The Tianxin District People’s Court of Changsha City heard the case. Defendants He Qiaoling and Liu Xuemei argued that after signing a house rental contract with Yiju, they only received a monthly rent of 1,700 yuan and a deposit of 1,700 yuan, totaling 3,400 yuan.

Without further rent, they automatically terminated their contract with Yiju on August 23, 2020; in addition, after many negotiations with Xiao Siyuan, they failed to require him to pay unpaid rent on behalf of Yiju, and Yiju The sublease contract with Xiao Siyuan should be terminated. As the owners of the house, they have the right to take back the house; as for Xiao Siyuan's loss, He Qiaoling and Liu Xuemei believe that Yiju should bear the loss.

Regarding the second point of dispute, the plaintiff Xiao Siyuan paid 13 months’ rent in one lump sum in accordance with the house leasing contract and has fulfilled his contractual obligation to pay all the rent. The defendant He Qiaoling unilaterally requested the plaintiff Xiao Siyuan to vacate the house. This was a unilateral termination of the contract and was not the reason for Yiju's unilateral termination of the contract as stipulated in the house leasing contract. Therefore, the defendant He Qiaoling paid the plaintiff Xiao Siyuan 10,925 yuan in rent and advance payment. Interest is subject to civil liability for compensation.

Regarding the plaintiff Xiao Siyuan’s claim that the defendant Liu Xuemei should jointly bear the liability for compensation, according to Article 162 of the General Principles of the Civil Law, an agent shall make civil legal decisions in the name of the principal within the scope of agency authority. An act is effective against the principal. Since the defendant Liu Xuemei is the agent of the defendant He Qiaoling, the above liability for compensation shall be borne by the defendant He Qiaoling.

The court also held that the defendant He Qiaoling could claim another right against Yiju after assuming responsibility for this case.

Accordingly, the Changsha Tianxin District People’s Court made a first-instance judgment: the defendant He Qiaoling compensated the plaintiff Xiao Siyuan for prepaid rent and interest of 10,925 yuan.

He Qiaoling refused to accept the first-instance judgment and appealed to the Changsha Intermediate People's Court. Recently, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court issued a judgment upholding the original verdict.