Judgement of the Tokyo District Court on August 31, 2007 (Case Number: 2006-WA-16068)
- Tokyo District Court acknowledged the validity of cancellation of building lease contract based on 2 months’ non-payment but ordered the lender to compensate for damages because of an illegal self-enforcement.
- Teishin Mokuzai Co., Ltd. (lender) vs. Sakuraba Co., Ltd. (tenant)
- Claim by former tenant to compensate for damages because of the lender’s illegal self-enforcement
Location and Purpose of Use of the Building
- First basement floor of a building in Minato Ward, Tokyo
- As the tenant delayed payment of the rent around two months frequently, the lender cancelled the building lease contract.
- The lender not only cancelled the contract but changed the key, entered the building and dis-posed household goods without the tenant’s consent.
- The tenant argued that cancellation was invalid. The tenant also claimed the lender to compensate for damages because of its illegal self-enforcement.
- The court judged that the relationship of mutual trust between the lender and the tenant had been dissolved because the tenant frequently delayed payment of the rent around two months; and acknowledged that the lease contract was validly cancelled based on two months’ non-payment of the rent.
- However, the court judged that it was an illegal self-enforcement that the lender changed the key and disposed household goods without the tenant’s consent; and ordered the lender to compensate 3,990,962 yen.
- This is one of the cases that cancellation of building lease contract based on two months’ non-payment was acknowledged and compensation for damages because of an illegal self-enforcement was acknowledged.
