Original title: loss assessment for rent withdrawal should be based on fairness and reasonableness

"It was OK when I rented the house, but I was in trouble when I returned it!" Xue Sheng, who works in Chongqing University Town, recently reported to reporters that he rented a house nearby, but was asked by the landlord to compensate more than 2000 yuan for various unreasonable reasons when he returned the house. At a time when renting a house has become the living choice of more and more people, disputes arising from the withdrawal of rent are often troubling. (May 22, Workers' Daily)

Whether renting a house or a car, or renting other goods, rent out is a must. However, many lessors always open their mouths to the tenants in terms of loss determination, withhold the deposit and force them to claim compensation. Previously, a landlord in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, carried a searchlight to check the room inch by inch and claimed more than 10000 yuan when the tenant checked out, which was mocked by netizens as "loss determination with a searchlight". After a while, a college student rented an Audi A6 on an online car rental platform. When returning the car for inspection, he found that there was a slight scratch on the headlights. The car rental agency refused to return the deposit, insisted on replacing the headlights when the 4S store indicated that it could cost more than 2000 yuan to recover, and asked him to bear the cost of replacing parts, delaying work, depreciation, etc., totaling 68800 yuan.

Objectively speaking, the lessor's request for the lessee to compensate for the loss of existing goods when returning from the lease is not only in line with the fair logic of "no loss without compensation", but also can restrict the uncivilized behavior of the lessee to deliberately damage or destroy goods. However, any article has natural wear and tear due to aging. Even the most durable articles will gradually age with the passage of time. Some lessors frequently require tenants to restore the original state of the goods, or pay high compensation according to the original value of the goods, which obviously exceeds the necessary scale, scope and legal degree.

The Civil Code stipulates that civil subjects should follow the principle of fairness and reasonably determine the rights and obligations of each party when engaging in civil activities. The Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests also stipulates that consumers have the right to fair trade in the process of receiving goods or services. In the process of termination of the lease contract, the lessor takes the restoration of the original state of the worn out goods or the original value of the goods before the wear and tear as the loss standard, but ignores the objective law of the natural wear and tear of the goods, and attempts to claim a high amount of compensation from the tenant, which is a bullying act to force the tenant to increase obligations and enhance their own rights, and violates the principle of fairness and justice of the rule of law.

Therefore, the lessor's loss determination behavior, which only seeks to maximize its own interests, does not reasonably determine the rights and obligations of both parties, is not conducive to the construction of a harmonious leasing relationship, and disturbs the order of the leasing market, cannot be allowed to spread. Tenants can fully safeguard their rights through negotiation, complaints, legal proceedings and other means, and force the other party to regulate the loss determination and compensation within an economic, reasonable and fair framework with a clear attitude of voting with their feet. The supervision department should also strengthen supervision and punish such acts against fairness and justice severely, so that the lessor can consciously eliminate the false idea of taking advantage of rent cancellation to "get a handful".

Fairness and rationality is the goal that human beings have been striving for, and should be the fundamental compliance of all market behaviors, including leasing. In terms of the loss assessment of lease withdrawal in leasing business activities, the lessor must abandon the zero sum game business philosophy and consciously define the loss assessment standard and compensation amount in a fair and reasonable range, which is the correct approach. Otherwise, it will not only lose the trust of consumers, but also violate the law, and finally lift a stone to hit yourself in the foot. （ Zhang Zhiquan ）