Is this contract normal? Would you sign it?
Is there anything here I should ask them to change, or is this pretty much a typical contract?






Have you thought about plugging the document into AI and having a few different AIs read it? AI is great at this kind of thing. It's literally what it was made for.
Normally I'd take issue with the 2-month security deposit, but since it sounds like this is a detached house, the owner may not budge on that because of the risk of expensive damage. For the association dues, I'd look into the recent history of increases, because you could end up paying a lot more partway through your lease. I also noticed a lot of emphasis on what you, the tenant, are liable to pay, and very little mention of the landlord's obligations. That makes me suspicious. So I'd recommend at least adding a 2-week or 30-day grace period during which the owner is liable for all repairs, including minor ones. The contract says the unit is in good condition, and it may have looked that way when you visited, but once you actually move in you may find some appliances broken (if it's fully furnished), faulty fixtures, maybe plumbing problems in the bathroom, and so on. During that period, the owner would pay for those repairs. On a similar note, the 10k peso threshold for major repairs seems excessive. I'd lower it. At 10k, you can be held liable for most repairs, because it won't be hard to find a handyman willing to do the job for under 10k. And these guys do shoddy work, so you can probably expect to call him back again during your 1-year lease.
That's a lot more complicated than mine and leans more toward the landlord. I feel like the odds are stacked against you, and it gives me a bad feeling about how things will go down the line. A year is a long time if there are problems.
The landlord should be paying the association dues, not the tenant.
FYI, there's a Philippines law subreddit you could try as well
The only thing I'd add, whether you sign this or not: video and photograph every imperfection, scratch, chip, stain and crack in detail. It's also a good idea to create a new email/social media account just for this house or apartment and use it for all bills, receipts, photos and so on, to save time whenever you need to look something up later. Good luck
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