Legal Updates

A lessee has no duty to disclose on lessee’s own initiative past criminal records

October 8, 2016
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A lessor terminated the lease after discovering that the lessee has a criminal record.

The Court held that the scope of the disclosure requirement of a party during negotiations depends on the practice between the parties and the specific circumstances of the transaction. There is no duty on a lessee to disclose on its own initiative past unless this relevant to the lessor and this is due to the public interest that a person with a criminal record may still be able to find a shelter for him and his family and thus be able to rehabilitate and also due to the severe damage of privacy.  In this case, the lessor did not act to investigate this matter before the lease agreement was execute and thus it was not shown that this was of relevance to the lessor. Under such circumstances, there was no disclosure duty on the lessee and the termination of the lease agreement was done unlawfully.  Thus the Court ordered that the lessor will compensate the lessee.