Short answer. Yes. Under Article 1688, when a landlord leases a store or industrial establishment and also leases the furniture or fixtures, the fixture lease is treated as tied to the premises lease. It lasts for the same duration as the premises lease — no separate term needs to be negotiated for the contents.
What the law says
when the lessor of a store, or industrial establishment, also leases the furniture, the lease of the latter shall be deemed to be for the duration of the lease of the premises
Civil Code, Article 1688 — Lease of Furniture With the Premises. Read the full provision →
The rule: fixture lease follows premises lease
Article 1688 establishes a default rule of co-terminus duration: when furniture or fixtures are leased together with the premises, the fixture lease lasts exactly as long as the premises lease. If your lease on the store is one year, the fixtures are deemed leased for one year. If the premises lease is renewed or extended, the fixture lease follows. This removes the need to negotiate separate terms for the contents and avoids ambiguity about what happens to the fixtures when the premises lease ends — they become returnable at the same time.
What premises does the rule cover
Article 1688 covers two types of premises: dwelling houses used by a family, and commercial premises — stores or industrial establishments. Your situation falls squarely within the commercial category. The article treats these two types uniformly: in both cases, a landlord who bundles furniture with the premises creates a fixture lease that runs parallel to and co-terminous with the premises lease. There is no requirement that the fixtures be specifically enumerated in a schedule; if they were leased together, the rule applies.
Practical consequences at the end of the lease
When the premises lease ends — whether by expiration of the term, by non-renewal, or by valid termination — the fixture lease ends simultaneously. The tenant must return both the store and the fixtures. The tenant cannot claim a right to retain the fixtures under a supposedly separate lease arrangement if the parties never specified a different duration for the contents. Equally, the landlord cannot demand the fixtures back before the premises lease expires, since the fixture lease runs for the same period.
When the parties agree on a different term
Article 1688 is a default rule, not an absolute prohibition on separate arrangements. If the lease contract expressly sets a different duration for the furniture — shorter or longer than the premises term — that express agreement controls. The statute fills the gap when no separate duration is stated; it does not override what parties have clearly agreed upon in writing. If your lease documents are silent on the fixtures' term, Article 1688 makes the answer simple: same term as the store.