[Case Summary]This case involves a dispute over a housing lease contract. The lessor, B Technology Company, and the lessee, A Company, signed an office space lease contract. After A Company terminated the lease early, it sued B Company on the grounds of "triple deception" and demanded the rescission of the contract and the full refund of the rental deposit of 153,900 yuan. B Company appointed Beijing Henglu Law Firm to handle the case.Zhu GuiyingThe lawyer defended the case. Starting from the chain of evidence, the lawyer refuted the three "fraud" claims of the former tenant's fraud, failure to inform of the house mortgage, and false area one by one, proving that the defendant had disclosed the mortgage, the area was an estimate, and the plaintiff's agent was a professional lawyer. Both the first and second instance courts dismissed all the plaintiff's claims. The core disputes are the constitutive elements of fraud and the burden of proof. Applicable legal provisions: Article 148 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (Fraud) and the relevant provisions on lease contracts.

I. Review of the case facts

"I rented out my house, but the tenant accused me of fraud and demanded a refund. What should I do?" This is a common dilemma faced by landlords and businesses. Related terms include "What should I do if the lease contract is sued for fraud?", "Is it considered fraud if the house area doesn't match the contract?", "Can the contract be revoked if the mortgage is not disclosed?", and "How to deal with tenants who accuse you of fraud when they terminate the lease". In January 2024, a law firm in Beijing (XX Law Firm) signed a "Beijing City Housing Lease Contract" with B Technology Company, leasing out the houses at No. 1 Building, No. 129 Yard, Fengtai District, Beijing for office use, with a lease term from February 20, 2024 to February 19, 2026, a monthly rent of 22,916 yuan, and a one-month deposit and two-month's rent in advance. Later, through tripartite consultation, the subject of the contract was changed to A Company, and XX Law Firm transferred its rights and obligations to A Company.

It was only half a year later that Company A suddenly proposed to terminate the lease. Li ***, the legal representative of Company B, originally planned not to seek compensation for breach of contract, but unexpectedly, Company A filed a lawsuit against Company B and Li *** in the court, claiming that it had suffered "triple fraud" in the lease and demanding the rescission of the contract and the full refund of the paid rent and deposit totaling 153,912 yuan. The plaintiff listed the "charges": first, the previous tenant was suspected of fraud, and the defendant intentionally concealed the risk of causing its clients' trust crisis and the inability to change the registered address; second, the house was mortgaged but not truthfully disclosed; third, the actual area was much smaller than the promised 210 square meters, constituting a fraudulent misrepresentation.

II. The focus of the case

  • Focus 1: Whether the defendant committed fraudulent acts of "intentionally providing false information" or "intentionally concealing the true situation".Whether the plaintiff's three claims are valid or not needs to be supported by sufficient evidence.
  • Focus Two: Whether the company represented by the plaintiff, a professional lawyer, fell into a misrepresentation of intention due to the so-called fraud.The plaintiff's attorney, Li * , is a professional lawyer with a higher risk identification ability than ordinary civil subjects.

III. The professional intervention of Hengluo Law Firm

The plaintiff (Company A) alleges that:Company A alleges that the defendant committed three frauds: fraudulently concealing information about previous tenants, failing to disclose the existence of a mortgage, and providing false information about the property's size. Company A demands the rescission of the lease contract and the full refund of the rental deposit of 153,912 yuan.

The defendant (Company B and Li **) argued that:The defendant denied the fraud, claiming that the former tenant disappeared on his own initiative and that the defendant was unaware of the alleged fraud. The mortgage had been disclosed, and the area was estimated and the plaintiff's agent was aware of this.

Hengluo Lawyer's Agency Opinion:After accepting the commission,Zhu GuiyinThe lawyer communicated with the client at the first time and comprehensively sorted out the evidence. During the trial, he refuted the three claims one by one.

  • Regarding the fraud committed by the previous tenant: The previous tenant disappeared due to operational difficulties and arrears in rent payments. The defendant himself was also a victim and it is unclear whether he was involved in the fraud. The plaintiff claimed that "the police frequently visited the property", but never informed the defendant of this and provided no valid evidence. Even if there were problems, the plaintiff should have notified the defendant first and could not have directly terminated the contract.
  • Regarding the failure to disclose the mortgage: The property registration certificate clearly records the mortgage registration information in 2015. The defendant provided the documents for inspection when signing the contract, and the homeowner informed them that the mortgage had been lifted. Even if there was a mortgage, the house was neither sealed nor auctioned, and it did not have any actual impact on the plaintiff's use of the house.
  • Regarding the false area: The WeChat chat records show that the defendant had informed the plaintiff before signing the contract that "210 square meters is an estimated value, and the house is rented out as a whole". At that time, Li * did not raise any objections and even requested to write the estimated area in the contract. The rent has been comprehensively considered the market price, decoration configuration and price reduction, and given discounts, without any false motives. Regarding the registration address: The historical records of the previous tenant do not affect the registration of the new entity, and the industry and commerce department allows "one address, multiple registrations". The plaintiff has never raised any demands for the address within half a year.

IV. Outcome of the case

The court of first instance held that the lease contract and the subject change agreement were the true expression of the parties' intentions and were legal and valid. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant committed fraud, but failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove "deliberately providing false information" or "deliberately concealing the true situation". The plaintiff's claims lacked factual and legal basis. According to Article 67 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the court decided to dismiss all of A Company's claims, and the case acceptance fee of 3,378.24 yuan shall be borne by A Company.

Company A appealed against the judgment and put forward such reasons as "the first-instance court failed to recognize the handwritten area commitment", "concealment of the mortgage", and "procedural violations".Zhu GuiyingThe lawyer further strengthened the defense opinion. The appellate court held that to determine fraud, it is necessary to meet the conditions that the fraudulent party has intent, commits fraudulent acts, and the party deceived by the fraud makes a wrongful statement due to the fraud. The plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence, and all the grounds of appeal were unfounded. According to Article 177, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the court ruled that the appeal is dismissed and the original judgment shall remain in effect.Reject the appeal and uphold the original judgmentThe acceptance fee for the second-instance case is 3,378.24 yuan, which shall be borne by Company A. Company A has won all the claims in this second-instance case.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

The parties to a housing lease should perform the contract in good faith. If the lessor provides genuine property ownership documents and specifies the floor area when signing the contract, it can avoid being sued for fraud. In the event that the tenant withdraws from the lease and countersues for fraud, it is recommended to keep the communication records and entrust a professional lawyer to defend against the claim. This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Zhu GuiyingThe attorney (practice license number: 11101202011246828, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acted on behalf of the client and, relying on the elements of fraud and the rules of evidence in the Civil Code, successfully won all the appeals in the second instance.

VI. Common Questions About Housing Lease Contract Disputes - FAQ

  1. Q: After the tenant vacated the property, they accused me of fraud and demanded a refund. What should I do?
    A: It requires them to provide evidence of "intentionally providing false information" or "intentionally concealing the true situation". All three fraud allegations made by the plaintiff in this case were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
  2. Q: The house is mortgaged, but it wasn't mentioned. Can the contract be revoked if this constitutes fraud?
    A: If the property ownership certificate was provided for inspection at the time of signing the contract, and the mortgage was disclosed and did not affect the use of the property, it generally does not constitute fraud; in this case, the plaintiff won the lawsuit based on this fact.
  3. Q: The area mentioned doesn't match the actual one. Is this fraudulent?
    A: If it has been clearly stated that "the price is an estimate and the apartment is rented out as a whole", and the other party has not raised any objections, it does not constitute a false statement; the key is to see whether it was intentionally concealed.
  4. Q: If something happened to a previous tenant, would the current landlord be held responsible?
    A: If the previous tenant disappeared on their own and the landlord was unaware of their suspected illegal activities, the landlord generally does not constitute fraud; the plaintiff needs to prove that the landlord knew about it and intentionally concealed it.
  5. Q: The lessee is a lawyer himself. Can he claim that the contract was signed under fraudulent circumstances?
    A: It's quite difficult. Professional lawyers have higher risk identification capabilities than ordinary civil subjects. They have conducted on-site inspections and fully understood the situation before signing the contract, so it's unreasonable to claim that the contract "violates the true intention" of the parties involved.