My nephew in Hongkong had given up his condo for a smaller condo in town. The lease contract is 1 year but he had wanted an option to make it 6 months in case he has something else in mind (he is planning to put up a resort in the Philippines). The landlord indicated in the lease contract that clause where my nephew can leave the condo upon 60 days notice. However, he was asked to pay 6 months of rent in advance before he could move in. My nephew is already living there now.
This makes perfect sense. Where your nephew already indicated that he would be looking for another place and the landlord agreed to change the lease for him, the landlord wants to make sure that he is going to get the six months that he is requesting. It is just to cover himself in case your nephew decides to leave sooner without a 60 day notice.
Now the question is this - what if my nephew as the tenant decides to leave after 3 months of using the condo? Take note, there are 3 months left in the lease contract. The 60-day notice for leaving the condo has been waived in favor of the agreed 6 months and can only be in effect after the 6 months of stay. I am posting this because I can feel that my nephew will be staying in the Philippines semi-permanently starting in January. He is now confused on what to do with the present lease contract.
Leases can be tricky. You have to be clear on everything and ready everything carefully before you agree to anything. I prefer not to sign leases when I am renting. I try to find places that do month to month so that I am not committed to anything. You never know when something may come up and you have to move or you find a place that you would rather be. All the best to your nephew.
I had a friend who rented a commercial area for a possible beauty salon. After a month of operation, the municipal council passed an ordinance prohibiting the parking on the side of the road. And since the salon has no parking of its own particularly for the customers, the business is obviously dead. The landlord, bless his good heart, agreed to rescind the contract and returned the 2 months deposit of the rent. But those kind of landlords are hard to find.
If I understood it correctly, your nephew promised to stay 6 months. In that case, if he leaves sooner, then he will not be getting anything back. If the 60-day rule works inside the first 6 months then he should get the rent back for the full months that he isn't staying there, provided he notified the landlord in time.
