Sorry, I am renting a house and need to check out urgently. The landlord said that because I broke the contract and didn't refund the deposit, should I pay the utilities property fee this month?

Q: Sorry, I need to check out in the middle of renting a house. The landlord said the deposit would not be refunded because I broke the contract. So do I have to pay the utilities and property fees this month? The deposit is 2000 yuan, and I haven't lived for a month.

A: The Scout Law Online Consultation will answer your question.

Depending on the nature of the deposit, you can get it back if it is for the preservation of the goods, and you can't get it back if it is agreed to be liquidated damages. The rent can be settled by both parties through consultation or deducted. Check out in writing one month in advance.

The two sides signed a house lease contract, and with the lease agreement, it is necessary to strictly implement the agreement. For the payment of rent, it is also necessary to implement the contract. If there is no agreement, it can be supplemented through consultation. In addition, if the other party refuses to rent, it is a breach of contract, and you can ask the other party to bear the liquidated damages and compensate the actual losses. If negotiation with the other party fails, you can bring a lawsuit to the court.

Second, the liability for breach of contract

Liability for breach of contract is the abbreviation of civil liability for breach of contract, which refers to the civil liability that a party to a contract should bear if it fails to perform its contractual obligations or fails to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Elements of liability for breach of contract:

(1) breach of contract;

(2) Damage to facts;

(3) There is a causal relationship between the breach of contract and the fact of damage;

(4) There is no exemption. The former is called the positive element of liability for breach of contract, and the latter is called the negative element of liability for breach of contract. Only the positive factor, namely breach of contract, is discussed here.

Third, liquidated damages.

Liquidated damages refer to a certain amount of money or property that should be paid to the other party when one party breaches the contract. According to different standards, liquidated damages can be divided into: (1) statutory liquidated damages and agreed liquidated damages; (2) Punitive liquidated damages and compensatory liquidated damages. Before the implementation of the Contract Law, China's liquidated damages system was compatible with the above forms, and the Contract Law made brand-new provisions.

According to the current contract law, liquidated damages have the following legal characteristics: (1) is pre-agreed in the contract (one of the contract terms); (2) It is a certain amount of money (fixed compensation) paid by one party to the other party when it breaches the contract; (3) It is an agreement on the liability for compensation (different from general contractual obligations).

Regarding the nature of liquidated damages, it is generally believed that the liquidated damages system established by the current contract law is not punitive and belongs to compensatory liquidated damages system. Even if the agreed amount of liquidated damages is higher than the actual loss, this basic attribute cannot be changed. Whether the parties can agree on simple punitive liquidated damages is not clearly stipulated in the contract law. Generally speaking, this agreement is not invalid, but its nature is still liquidated damages.