Short answer. Yes. The Civil Code lets a lessor judicially eject a lessee who devotes the leased thing to a use or service not stipulated when that use causes its deterioration. A tenant who misuses your unit in a way that damages it gives you a recognised ground to go to court for ejectment.
What the law says
When the lessee devotes the thing leased to any use or service not stipulated which causes the deterioration thereof
Civil Code, Article 1673 — Grounds for Judicial Ejectment. Read the full provision →
Misuse causing deterioration is a listed ground
The Civil Code sets out specific causes for which a lessor may judicially eject a lessee, and this situation is one of them. Ejectment is allowed when the lessee devotes the thing leased to any use or service not stipulated which causes the deterioration thereof. Two elements sit inside that phrase. First, the tenant must be using the property for something other than the use agreed upon — an unstipulated use. Second, that off-purpose use must be causing the property to deteriorate. It is the combination that counts: not every unusual use is a ground, but one that both departs from the agreement and damages the unit is.
It connects to the tenant's basic duties
This ground is really the enforcement side of what a lessee is obliged to do. A lessee must use the thing leased as a diligent father of a family, devoting it to the use stipulated; and in the absence of stipulation, to that which may be inferred from the nature of the thing leased. A tenant who turns a residential unit into something that batters it, or otherwise puts it to a damaging purpose you never agreed to, breaches that duty. The article expressly links ejectment to a failure to observe this requirement, so the right to eject flows from the tenant's own violation of how the property was meant to be used and cared for.
Ejectment is judicial
Notice the article speaks of the lessor's power to judicially eject the lessee. That word matters. The remedy is pursued through the courts, not by taking matters into your own hands — you do not get to change the locks, remove the tenant's belongings, or force them out yourself. Self-help eviction can expose a landlord to liability of his own. The proper path is a court action for ejectment, where you establish the ground — here, the unstipulated, deteriorating use — and obtain a judgment. This protects both sides: it gives the landlord a real remedy while ensuring the tenant is removed only through lawful process.
Build the record before you file
Because you will have to prove the ground, evidence is everything. Document what use was actually agreed in the lease, how the tenant's use departs from it, and the deterioration that use is causing — photographs, inspection notes, repair estimates, and a timeline all help. Written demands to the tenant to stop the misuse and correct the damage are also valuable, both to show the problem and to give the tenant a chance to cure. Keep in mind that ejectment of tenants of agricultural lands is governed by special laws, so those cases follow their own rules. For an ordinary unit, take your records to a lawyer to prepare the case properly.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Cebu Autometric Motos, Inc. vs. Tirso Uytengsu III, G.R. No. 151168, August 25, 2010 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Hernania "Lani" Lopez vs. Gloria Umale-Cosme, G.R. No. 171891, February 24, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Abaya Investments Corporation vs. Merit Philippines, et al, G.R. No. 176324, April 16, 2008 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- David G. Dula vs. Dr. Restituto Maravilla, et al, G.R. No. 134267, May 9, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →