Lease Renewal in the Philippines: Can the Landlord Change the Rent or Terms?

When a Philippine lease’s fixed term ends, the landlord is not required to renew it on the old rent and terms — but they also cannot simply impose new ones by default. If the tenant moves out or the landlord formally objects to continued occupancy, the lease simply ends. If instead the tenant stays on with the landlord’s acquiescence and nothing new is signed, the Civil Code’s rule on implied renewal (tacita reconduccion) kicks in automatically, carrying over the old rent and terms on a month-to-month basis rather than whatever new figure the landlord may have proposed (Civil Code of the Philippines, Art. 1670, LawPhil). For the narrow band of lower-rent units still covered by the Rent Control Act, a separate statutory cap also limits how much a continuing tenant’s rent can rise at renewal, regardless of what either side calls the arrangement (Republic Act No. 9653, LawPhil). This article focuses specifically on renewal; for the fuller picture of a tenant’s rights during an active lease, see our complete tenant rights guide.

Decision Snapshot

• What “renewal” actually means: Either a freshly negotiated and signed new lease, or an automatic implied renewal (tacita reconduccion) that arises by operation of law if the tenant stays on with the landlord’s acquiescence and nothing new is signed.
• Where to check the rules: Civil Code Articles 1670 and 1687 govern implied renewal and default lease duration for every lease; Republic Act No. 9653 (the Rent Control Act) adds a specific rent-increase cap for lower-rent covered units (RA 9653, LawPhil).
• The key qualifying detail: The statutory rent-increase cap only binds units at or below the government’s current monthly-rent coverage threshold, and only for a continuing (same-lessee) tenancy — a landlord re-leasing a now-vacant unit to a brand-new tenant can set a fresh starting rent freely, even for a covered unit.
• The main rule on non-renewal: A landlord can decline to renew a fixed-term lease and is not legally required to offer the same rent or terms again — but once the term lapses and the tenant is allowed to stay for more than fifteen days without objection, an implied new lease on the old terms takes over automatically.
• An important caveat: The Rent Control Act’s rent-increase ceiling is reset periodically by government resolution, not fixed in the statute — it has fallen well below the law’s original 7% figure in recent years, so confirm the current-year number before relying on any percentage you read online, including this article’s.
• Next step: If either side wants different rent or terms at renewal, put the new agreement in writing and get it signed before the old term actually lapses — waiting until the tenant has already stayed on for weeks removes the landlord’s leverage to simply impose new figures.

What “Lease Renewal” Actually Means Under Philippine Law

Philippine law recognizes three distinct outcomes when a fixed-term lease reaches its end date, and they produce very different results for rent and terms:

1. A negotiated renewal — both sides sign a new lease, or a renewal addendum, before or at the end of the old term. Because this is a fresh contract, the parties are free to agree to whatever rent and terms they both accept (subject to the Rent Control Act’s cap, if the unit is covered).
2. Non-renewal — the landlord (or tenant) simply declines to continue, the tenant vacates on or before the end date, and the lease ends with no further obligations beyond final accounting of the deposit.
3. Implied renewal (tacita reconduccion) — nobody signs anything, but the tenant keeps occupying the unit and paying rent, and the landlord accepts this without objection. The Civil Code treats this specific situation as creating a brand-new lease automatically, by operation of law.

Article 1670 of the Civil Code sets the exact trigger for the third scenario: if, at the end of the contract, the lessee continues enjoying the leased property for fifteen days with the lessor’s acquiescence, and neither party has given notice to the contrary, “it is understood that there is an implied new lease” — and, critically, “the other terms of the original contract shall be revived” (Civil Code of the Philippines, Art. 1670, LawPhil; see also this doctrine summary of Article 1670 and Rule 70). That means an implied renewal is not a blank slate — it revives the rent, the deposit arrangement, and every other term of the expired contract, with one key exception: duration.

Duration under an implied renewal is governed separately by Article 1687, which ties the new, unwritten term to how rent is paid: monthly rent means a month-to-month lease, weekly rent means week-to-week, and daily rent means day-to-day (Civil Code, Article 1687 commentary). The Supreme Court has confirmed this mechanic directly: in Pio Q. Paterno v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 115763, May 29, 1997), the Court held that an implied new lease runs not for the period of the original contract but for the period set by Articles 1682 and 1687, while the original contract’s other terms are revived — and that courts may fix a longer term only where the lessee has occupied the premises for more than a year and the equities call for it.

Can the Landlord Raise the Rent at Renewal?

The answer depends entirely on which of the three scenarios above actually applies, and whether the unit is covered by the Rent Control Act.

For a negotiated renewal of a non-covered unit — the large majority of condos and apartments marketed to professionals and expats, which sit above the government’s current rent-control threshold — there is no statutory ceiling at all. The new rent is whatever the landlord proposes and the tenant agrees to in a freshly signed contract. A tenant who doesn’t like the new figure can decline to sign and vacate instead; nothing forces either side to continue on any particular number.

For a Rent Control Act-covered unit with a continuing (same-lessee) tenancy, Republic Act No. 9653 sets a specific annual cap, and the law authorizes the National Human Settlements Board (NHSB), under the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, to adjust both the coverage threshold and the allowable increase by resolution (DHSUD/NHSB policies). As of this writing, NHSB Resolution No. 2024-001 sets the coverage threshold at residential units renting for ₱10,000 or less per month, with the maximum allowable increase for a continuing tenant set at roughly 1% for 2026, down from 2.3% in 2025 and well below the statute’s original 7% ceiling (Philstar Property, “A 1% Safety Net: What It Means for Renters in 2026”; Philippine Information Agency, Gov’t Reduces Hike in Monthly Rent for Residential Units). This cap applies however the parties label the transaction — calling it a “renewal” does not create an exception. See our full Rent Control Act (RA 9653) guide for the coverage mechanics in more depth.

For a vacant unit re-leased to a brand-new tenant, RA 9653 itself carves out an exception: once a covered unit becomes vacant, “the lessor may set the initial rent for the next lessee” freely (RA 9653, Sec. 4, LawPhil). The annual cap only protects a sitting tenant from being priced out of the same unit — it does not control what a landlord can charge once that tenant has actually moved out.

For an implied renewal arising from the tenant simply holding over, the rent does not change at all — Article 1670 revives “the other terms of the original contract,” which includes the previously agreed rent. A landlord cannot unilaterally raise the rent just by letting the tenant continue to occupy the unit; doing that requires either a new signed agreement or, for a covered unit, a lawful annual increase applied prospectively under RA 9653’s own mechanics.

Can the Landlord Change Other Terms — Not Just Rent — at Renewal?

The same split applies to non-rent terms: who pays which utilities, pet policies, the number of occupants allowed, the security deposit amount, and similar contract terms.

• If the parties sign a new contract (a true negotiated renewal), either side can propose different terms, and the other side can accept, reject, or counter-propose. There is no legal obligation to keep the same clauses from the expired lease.
• If nothing is signed and the tenant simply holds over, Article 1670 revives the original contract’s other terms along with the rent — a landlord cannot informally impose a new pet ban, a new visitor policy, or a higher deposit requirement simply by letting the tenant continue living there without a new signature. Changing those terms requires either the tenant’s actual agreement to a new or amended contract, or formal notice ending the old arrangement before the implied renewal takes hold.
• For a Rent Control Act-covered unit specifically, certain terms are fixed by statute regardless of what either side signs — the one-month advance rent limit, the two-month security deposit cap, and the requirement that the deposit sit in a bank account under the lessor’s name cannot be waived or renegotiated upward by a “renewal” contract (RA 9653, Sec. 7, LawPhil). See our full guide to security deposit rules for what can and cannot be deducted at move-out.

Does the Landlord Have to Renew the Lease at All?

No. Philippine law does not give a residential tenant a general statutory right to have a fixed-term lease renewed. Expiration of the lease period is itself listed as one of the valid grounds for judicial ejectment under RA 9653 — alongside non-payment of rent, unauthorized subleasing, and a handful of others — meaning a landlord who simply does not want to continue the arrangement can decline to renew without needing any other justification (RA 9653, Sec. 9, LawPhil).

There is one important nuance for Rent Control Act-covered units. Section 12 of RA 9653 suspends the ordinary Civil Code ground of “expiration of the period agreed upon” (Article 1673, paragraph 1) for covered leases that do not have a definite period — in other words, once a covered unit has already lapsed into an implied, month-to-month arrangement, the landlord cannot cite “the lease expired” as a ground, because there is no longer a fixed period to expire. For a lease that still has a genuinely definite, fixed term, this suspension does not apply, and RA 9653’s own Section 9 lists plain “expiration of the period of the lease contract” as an available ground once that definite term runs out (RA 9653, Secs. 9 and 12, LawPhil).

Separately, RA 9653 also lists a landlord’s “legitimate need… to repossess his or her property for his or her own use or for the use of an immediate member of his or her family” as its own distinct ground, which specifically requires a formal written notice at least three months in advance, and bars the owner from re-leasing the unit to anyone else for at least one year after repossessing it (RA 9653, Sec. 9, LawPhil). That three-month notice period applies to that specific ground — a landlord simply declining to renew an already-expired, definite-term lease is a separate ground under the same section and is not, by the text of the law, tied to that same three-month figure, though giving early notice either way is good practice and avoids an inadvertent implied renewal.

How to Prevent (or Trigger) an Implied Renewal

Because Article 1670’s implied renewal is automatic once its conditions are met, timing is what actually controls the outcome — not which side “wants” to renew.

• To prevent an implied renewal on the old terms, the landlord (or the tenant) must give notice to the contrary before the tenant has occupied the unit for fifteen days past the lease’s end date. A written notice — even a simple message stating that the lease will not continue on the same terms — is enough to stop tacita reconduccion from arising automatically.
• To actually change the rent or terms, that notice needs to be followed by either a signed new agreement at the proposed figures, or the tenant’s actual move-out. Simply telling a tenant “your rent is going up” without a signed new contract, while continuing to accept the old rent and letting them stay past the fifteen-day mark, does not change anything — the old terms are revived by law regardless of what was said.
• If the tenant wants to lock in a renewal at the old terms and the landlord is silent or non-responsive as the term lapses, continuing to pay the same rent and staying in the unit for more than fifteen days with the landlord’s apparent acquiescence is itself what creates the implied new lease — no additional paperwork is required on the tenant’s side for Article 1670 to apply.

If the Tenant Won’t Leave After a Valid Non-Renewal

A landlord who has validly declined to renew — and given timely notice so no implied renewal arose — still cannot simply change the locks or cut utilities if the tenant refuses to leave. The same ejectment process applies as for any other lawful ground:

1. A written demand to vacate is sent to the tenant, citing the lease’s expiration.
2. Barangay conciliation is generally required first if the landlord and tenant both actually reside in the same city or municipality, under the Katarungang Pambarangay provisions of the Local Government Code (Republic Act No. 7160, Secs. 408 and 412).
3. An unlawful detainer case is filed in the Municipal Trial Court with jurisdiction over the property, within one year of the demand to vacate, under Rule 70 of the Rules of Court.
4. Only a court judgment, enforced by a sheriff, can lawfully result in the tenant’s physical removal.

For the fuller mechanics of this process, including timelines and costs, see our guide on how to legally evict a tenant in the Philippines.

A Note on Rent-to-Own Agreements

RA 9653 separately allows a lessor to offer a written rent-to-own agreement that will eventually transfer ownership of the unit to the tenant — and the law specifically exempts this kind of arrangement from the Act’s rent-coverage rules in Section 5, meaning the usual percentage cap does not apply to a genuine rent-to-own structure (RA 9653, Sec. 11, LawPhil). A tenant offered a “renewal” that is actually structured as a rent-to-own agreement should read it as a different kind of contract altogether, not a simple continuation of the existing lease, since the ordinary tenant protections discussed above don’t apply to it in the same way.

Worked Example: A Renewal Rent Increase on a Non-Covered Unit

The scenario below is hypothetical and illustrative only — not a real transaction, and not legal advice.

• Setup: A one-year lease on a Metro Manila condo unit at ₱18,000 a month is about to expire. The unit is above the ₱10,000 Rent Control Act threshold, so it is not a covered unit. The landlord wants to renew at ₱19,800 a month (a 10% increase) for another year.
• Step 1 — check coverage: At ₱18,000/month, the unit falls outside RA 9653’s coverage, so there is no statutory percentage cap on the increase. The 10% figure is a negotiating position, not a legal violation.
• Step 2 — the tenant has three real options: sign the new lease at ₱19,800, counter-offer a different figure and negotiate, or decline and move out before the old term ends.
• Step 3 — what happens if nobody signs anything and the tenant just keeps paying ₱18,000 past the lease’s end date: once the landlord accepts that payment and allows the tenant to stay more than fifteen days without a written objection, Article 1670 creates an implied new lease on the old ₱18,000 rent, on a month-to-month basis — not the proposed ₱19,800. The landlord’s proposed increase is not binding without a signed new agreement.
• Result: To actually collect the higher rent, the landlord needs a signed renewal (or the tenant’s clear written acceptance) before the old term lapses, or must give timely notice ending the tenancy and then negotiate a fresh lease — simply announcing a new number is not enough on its own.

What to Verify Before You Rely on This

• Confirm the current Rent Control Act coverage threshold and increase cap directly through DHSUD/NHSB — these figures are reset periodically by resolution and this article’s numbers can go stale.
• Check your lease’s actual end date and whether it has a genuinely fixed, definite term — the rules differ for a lease that has already lapsed into month-to-month versus one still running on its original fixed period.
• Put any renewal terms in writing and signed by both sides before the old term lapses, rather than relying on a verbal understanding or a text message.
• If you’re a landlord who does not want an implied renewal, send a clear written notice before the tenant has occupied the unit for fifteen days past the old end date.
• If you’re a tenant facing a steep proposed increase, check first whether your unit is actually covered by the Rent Control Act before assuming any particular percentage is unlawful.
• Talk to a lawyer or your local DHSUD field office before signing an unfavorable renewal, ignoring a demand to vacate, or assuming an implied renewal applies to your specific facts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my landlord force me to accept a higher rent to renew my lease?

No. A renewal at a new rent requires your agreement and signature on a new contract (or, for a Rent Control Act-covered unit, must stay within the current statutory cap). If you don’t sign anything and simply keep paying the old rent while your landlord accepts it, the old rent and terms carry over automatically under Article 1670 of the Civil Code.

What happens if my lease expires and neither of us signs anything new?

If you stay in the unit and keep paying rent for more than fifteen days without your landlord objecting, an implied new lease arises automatically under Article 1670, reviving your old rent and other terms, but on a month-to-month (or week-to-week, or day-to-day) basis depending on how rent is paid, per Article 1687.

Is there a legal cap on how much rent can increase when I renew?

Only if your unit is covered by the Rent Control Act — currently units renting for ₱10,000 or less per month, with the cap for a continuing tenant set by annual NHSB resolution (around 1% for 2026). Units above that threshold have no statutory ceiling; the new rent is whatever both sides agree to.

Does the Rent Control Act give tenants a right to automatic renewal?

No. Expiration of a fixed-term lease is itself a valid ground for a landlord to decline renewal and pursue ejectment if the tenant doesn’t leave. The Act limits how much rent can rise for a continuing tenant on a covered unit — it does not require the landlord to keep renewing.

How much notice does my landlord need to give if they don’t want to renew?

To prevent an automatic implied renewal, notice should be given before you’ve occupied the unit for fifteen days past the lease’s end date. A separate three-month notice period applies specifically when a landlord is repossessing the unit for their own or an immediate family member’s personal use under RA 9653 — that specific ground is distinct from a plain non-renewal of an already-expired, definite-term lease.

Can my landlord change the security deposit or other rules just by calling it a “renewal”?

Only through a new, signed agreement that you actually accept. If nothing new is signed and you simply hold over, Article 1670 revives the original contract’s other terms — deposit amount included — along with the rent. For a Rent Control Act-covered unit, the one-month advance rent and two-month deposit limits are fixed by statute regardless of what any renewal contract says.

I’ve stayed on an implied month-to-month lease for years — can I still be asked to leave at any time?

Generally yes, with proper notice before the start of a new monthly period, though Philippine courts have recognized that a long-running implied lease (occupied for more than a year) can, in some circumstances, justify a court-set longer term under Article 1687. The Supreme Court has still upheld termination of decades-long month-to-month tenancies where proper notice was given.

Does a rent-to-own offer at renewal work the same way as an ordinary lease renewal?

No. RA 9653 specifically exempts a written rent-to-own agreement from its usual rent-coverage rules, so the percentage cap discussed above does not apply to that kind of arrangement. Treat a rent-to-own offer as a distinct contract to review carefully, not as a simple continuation of your existing lease.

What to Do Next

Start by checking your lease’s actual end date and whether it still runs on a genuinely fixed term or has already lapsed into an implied, month-to-month arrangement — that distinction decides most of what follows. If you’re a landlord who wants different rent or terms, get a new contract signed before the old term lapses, or send clear written notice well before your tenant has stayed on for fifteen extra days. If you’re a tenant facing a renewal increase, check whether your unit actually falls under the Rent Control Act’s current coverage threshold before assuming a particular percentage is unlawful, and keep paying your previously agreed rent while any dispute is sorted out rather than withholding payment outright. When the numbers or the stakes are significant, confirm the current NHSB cap and threshold with DHSUD directly, and involve a lawyer before signing an unfavorable renewal or responding to a demand to vacate.

Figures and procedures in this article reflect published legal and government-agency sources as of October 12, 2026. The Rent Control Act’s coverage threshold and rent-increase cap are reset periodically by NHSB resolution and can change; Civil Code rules on implied renewal continue to apply but their practical outcome depends heavily on the specific facts of each lease. Always confirm current figures with DHSUD, and consult a licensed Philippine lawyer before relying on this guide for an actual lease renewal, non-renewal, or eviction.