Lawyer Zhu: In May 2019, for the convenience of work, I signed a house lease contract with my landlord, Miss Li, to rent her house. After living for some time, I found that the service life of the gas stove, washing machine and refrigerator provided in the house has exceeded the safe service life stipulated by the state. I specially negotiated with Miss Li on this matter for many times to see whether it can be replaced. She didn't agree, but I think there are potential safety hazards in renting such a house. Can I sue her to terminate the house lease contract and refund the remaining house rent? Zhejiang reader Ms. Wang Ms. Wang: Hello! If the lease item endangers the safety or health of the lessee, the lessee may terminate the contract at any time even if the lessee knows that the lease item is unqualified at the time of conclusion of the contract. Many household appliances in the house you rent have exceeded the safe service life stipulated by the state, and there are potential safety hazards, which may endanger your safety and health. Therefore, you have the right to claim the termination of the contract at any time and ask for the refund of the remaining rent. █ one of the lessor's terms in the lease contract The important obligation is the liability for warranty against defects A lease contract is a contract in which the lessor assigns the right to use and benefit from the lease item and the lessee pays the rent. The core obligation of the lessor is to provide the lessee with the lease item that meets the lease purpose and has use and income value. Article 708 of the Civil Code stipulates: "the lessor shall deliver the lease item to the lessee as agreed and keep the lease item fit for the agreed purpose during the lease term." An important obligation of the lessor in the lease contract is the liability for warranty against defects. When the lease item provided by the lessor does not meet the requirements of the lease contract, or there are defects in quality or rights, the lessee may require the lessor to bear corresponding legal liabilities according to law and contract. The lessor's warranty liability for quality defects is stipulated in the previous contract law and the current civil code. Article 731 of the Civil Code stipulates that "if the lease item endangers the safety or health of the lessee, even if the lessee knows that the quality of the lease item is unqualified when concluding the contract, the lessee can still terminate the contract at any time." According to this provision, when the lease item has quality defects, whether the quality defects are obvious or hidden, the lessee knows it in advance or discovers it afterwards, whether there are relevant exemption clauses in the lease contract or not, as long as the lease item has defects that endanger the safety or health of the lessee, the lessee can request to terminate the contract. This provision reflects the principle of priority protection of personality rights such as the right to life, the right to body and the right to health in the civil code. When this protection conflicts with property rights or the party's autonomy of will, when the lease item complies with the above legal provisions, the lessee can still exercise the right to terminate the contract without restriction. It should be noted that in reality, many lessors believe that they rent houses, ignore the quality of supporting facilities and equipment, and finally cause undue losses to themselves. █ lawyer tips Although the law provides relatively perfect legal protection measures for the lessee's lease. However, after all, law is the last threshold of right relief, and starting judicial relief measures will cost more energy and money. Therefore, before signing the lease contract, the lessee must make a preliminary investigation in advance to ensure that the lease purpose can be realized as agreed: On the one hand, before signing the lease contract, we should make a preliminary investigation on the use status and quality problems of the leased property, especially those involving house leasing. We should understand in advance the planned purpose, nature of use, whether there are other owners, whether they are sealed up, whether they are mortgaged, etc. If the leased house is for the purpose of carrying out special business, such as catering, entertainment, education and other industries, it is necessary to know in advance whether the house and existing facilities and equipment meet the requirements for carrying out relevant business activities, whether the license procedures required for business activities are complete or can be handled, especially whether the leased house meets the requirements of public security Environmental protection, fire protection, sanitation and other conditions, so as to avoid that the purpose of house leasing cannot be realized and economic losses will be caused due to the non-compliance of the leased property with the requirements. On the other hand, when signing the lease contract, we must carefully read and study the terms of the lease contract, especially make detailed agreements on the liability for breach of contract, agreed cancellation conditions, lease purpose, lease time, lease expenses, etc. At the same time, the rights and obligations of both parties should be strictly defined, so that in case of disputes, they can distinguish right from wrong according to the contract and investigate the other party's liability for breach of contract. (Zhu Zheng, director of Beijing Jingshi (Hefei) law firm) (outlook new era)