Legar Management & Realty Corporation v. Court of Appeals

Summary

The Supreme Court resolved the issue of whether a residential lessee under a month-to-month lease can be ejected based solely on lease expiration after proper notice. The Metropolitan Trial Court initially ruled for the lessor, but both the Regional Trial Court and Court of Appeals held that additional grounds under the Rent Control Law were required beyond mere lease expiration. The Supreme Court ultimately reversed these decisions, clarifying that month-to-month leases under Article 1687 of the Civil Code are considered leases for definite periods that can be validly terminated upon proper notice and demand. Such termination constitutes sufficient cause for ejectment under Section 5(f) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 877, which allows ejectment upon expiration of the lease contract period. This decision established that lease expiration alone, after proper demand to vacate, justifies ejectment even under rent control legislation, resolving the conflict between civil law lease provisions and rent control statutes.