e) Suspension of rent
Sometimes a tenancy agreement may contain provisions to the effect that the payment of rent or a proportionate part thereof shall be suspended in the case that the subject premises or any part thereof is destructed or damaged by certain calamities, for example fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake or white ants, or if the premises is rendered uninhabitable or inaccessible for any cause beyond the control of the parties.
A suspension of rent clause is often construed narrowly. If the premises is damaged but not destroyed, it must be so severely damaged as to be rendered unfit for use, not merely in a dilapidated state or in need of repair.
Typically rent shall become payable again once the property is repaired or become accessible.
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