There are grounds and there is a procedure. Skipping the procedure is the single most expensive mistake a landlord makes here.
Ejectment goes through a court
“The lessor may judicially eject the lessee for any of the following causes:”
The word is judicially. Changing the locks, removing a door, or cutting the power or water is not a faster version of this — it runs against a duty you carry for the whole lease, and it hands the tenant a case.
“To maintain the lessee in the peaceful and adequate enjoyment of the lease for the entire duration of the contract.”
Demand first, then wait
“Unless otherwise stipulated, such action by the lesser shall be commenced only after demand to pay or comply with the conditions of the lease and to vacate is made upon the lessee, or by serving written notice of such demand upon the person found on the premises if no person be found thereon, and the lessee fails to comply therewith after fifteen (15) days in the case of land or five (5) days in the case of buildings.”
Five days for a building, fifteen for land, counted after the demand — and the demand has to be both to pay or comply and to vacate. Filing before that is a case you lose on the procedure rather than the merits.
Grounds, for covered units
- Assigning the lease or subleasing — including taking in boarders or bedspacers — without your written consent
- Arrears totalling three months (the section also sets out how a tenant may deposit rent you refuse to accept)
- You legitimately needing the unit for yourself or an immediate family member, after the period has expired and with three months’ formal notice — and you may not re-let it for at least a year
- Repairs required by an existing condemnation order, with first preference to re-lease going back to the tenant
- Expiration of the period of the lease contract
“Assignment of lease or subleasing of residential units in whole or in part, including the acceptance of boarders or bedspaces, without the written consent of the owner/lessor;”
Written consent. A verbal “okay lang” six months ago is not what Section 9 says, and it is not what you will be able to show.
And the barangay comes first
“No complaint, petition, action, or proceeding involving any matter within the authority of the lupon shall be filed or instituted directly in court or any other government office for adjudication, unless there has been a confrontation between the parties before the lupon chairman or the pangkat, and that no conciliation or settlement has been reached as certified by the lupon secretary or pangkat secretary as attested to by the lupon or pangkat chairman or unless the settlement has been repudiated by the parties thereto.”
For most disputes between people in the same city or municipality this is a precondition, not an option. Going straight to court gets the case sent back.
This page quotes the law and links to the source. It is information, not legal advice, and it is not written for any one person’s situation. For your own case, go to your barangay or to a lawyer.
Law text checked 2026-08-08