Tristan Lopez As Attorney-In-Fact of Leticia v. Leticia R. Fajardo

Summary

This ejectment case involved a month-to-month verbal lease where the Supreme Court established two independent grounds for lawful ejectment under the Rent Control Law (BP 877). The tenant failed to pay three months' rental arrears (July-September 2000) despite issuing a check that the landlord properly rejected, and the landlord validly terminated the month-to-month lease by giving proper notice. The Court of Appeals erred in focusing solely on the timing of rental arrears while ignoring the separate ground of lease expiration. The Supreme Court clarified that month-to-month leases under Civil Code Article 1687 are definite period leases that expire at each month's end upon proper notice, providing landlords with a clear legal basis for ejectment independent of rental default provisions. This decision reinforces landlord rights while balancing tenant protections under specialized rental legislation.