Ingenious Pull-Out

Once upon a time, an ex-pat rented a condo unit. He was a new hire tasked to set up a promising company in the Philippines. As part of his compensation, his company shouldered his rent.

Everything was quiet up until the second year of the lease. Out of nowhere, the company's officials mandated the condo admin to prohibit the ex-pat from leaving. When the admin asked about what was happening, the company briefly mentioned that the ex-pat created a big mess in the company (e.g., failing to show up for work, leaving unfinished projects, etc.).

A few days after informing the admin, the company called again to ask if the ex-pat still resided in the unit. The admin confirmed and mentioned that the ex-pat even had furniture delivered the prior week. A few days passed, and the company couldn't contact the ex-pat, so they finally visited his condo.

To their surprise, the condo unit was empty.

How could he pull out his furniture under the admin's noses?

Upon investigation, the ex-pat declared that new furniture would be delivered to the unit. When the admin reviewed the CCTV footage, they realized none was brought over. When the logistics company pulled out the ex-pat's furniture, the admin thought they were merely pulling out the old furniture.

The company pre-terminated the lease, and that's the end of the story.

But here's something to think about...

Assuming the ex-pat was still in the unit, can the admin legally prohibit the tenant from leaving/pulling out his furniture? In lease contracts between a lessor and a company with a designated tenant, who should be able to sign pull-out forms: the company or the tenant?

Probably something to think about when drafting your lease contracts with companies as the lessee.