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Civil Law

Explanation of Article 429

Explanation of Article 429

The article addresses the first obligation of the tenant, which is the obligation to pay the rent. The first paragraph of the article stipulates the tenant's obligation to pay the rent on time, and the timing of rent payment is determined in the following order:

First: If there is an agreement between the contracting parties on the timing of rent payment, the tenant is obligated to pay it at those times. The agreement on the timing of rent payment may be explicit or implicit, inferred from the circumstances of the contract, such as when the dealings between the contracting parties or customary practice dictate payment at certain times.

Second: If there is no explicit or implicit agreement on the timing of rent payment, and the lease is divided into time periods, the tenant is obligated to pay the rent at the beginning of each time period. For example, if the lease is for three years and the rent is one hundred thousand riyals annually, the tenant is obligated to pay the rent for each time period at its beginning.

Third: If there is no explicit or implicit agreement on the timing of rent payment, and the lease is not divided into time periods, the tenant is obligated to pay the rent upon the delivery of the leased property. The justification for deviating from the general rule established in paragraph (1) of article (275), which requires immediate fulfillment of the obligation as soon as it is incurred by the debtor, is the nature of the lease contract, where the rent corresponds to the benefit and is collected gradually. The system does not allow the rent to be deferred until the end of the term in the absence of an agreement, because the complete enjoyment of the benefit is what is delayed. Otherwise, the tenant begins to enjoy the benefit from the time the leased property is delivered to him in a manner that allows him to benefit from it, thus obligating him to pay the rent from that time.

The second paragraph stipulates that the landlord is not entitled to rent for the lease period during which he delayed delivering the leased property, because the rent corresponds to the benefit. If the landlord does not enable the tenant to benefit, the rent is waived to the extent that the benefit is reduced. An exception to this is if the delay is due to the tenant, such as if the tenant delays in performing the actions necessary for delivery, in which case the landlord is entitled to rent for that period.

Related To

Article 429

  1. The lessee shall pay the rent on the agreed dates. If no such dates are agreed upon, the rent shall be paid upon delivery of the leased thing. If the term of the lease contract is divided into time periods, the rent shall be paid at the beginning of each period.

  2. Rent shall not be due for any period that lapses prior to delivery of the leased thing, unless the delay in delivery is attributable to the lessee.