Notarizing a Fixed-Term Lease in Taiwan: What Can Be Enforced Without a Judgment

An American teacher has found a flat in Taipei on a two-year lease, and the landlord wants to sign it in front of a notary (an invented example). The draft names the end date, says the flat goes back to the landlord on that date, states a sum, and adds that the tenant "shall be directly subject to compulsory enforcement." What can the landlord do with that clause without suing first?

Article 13 of the Notary Act (公證法) allows enforcement on a notarial deed only when the parties request it for a listed legal act and the deed expressly says it is directly enforceable. For a building lease, the relevant items concern return when a fixed term expires and payment of a fixed quantity of money. Other claims do not acquire that status just by appearing beside the clause.

The deed and its enforcement wording

Article 13, paragraph 1, sets three conditions. The parties must ask a notary to make a notarial deed (公證書). The deed must concern a legal act that falls within one of the items listed in that paragraph. And the deed must state that it "shall be directly subject to compulsory enforcement" (應逕受強制執行). When all three are met, enforcement may be carried out on the basis of the deed (Article 13). The same sentence in a privately signed lease does not turn it into a notarial deed.

For this flat, items 1 and 3 matter. The other two items cover delivery of a specific movable thing and land leased or lent for a purpose other than farming or building, with return due at the end of its term (Article 13, paragraph 1).

Why no judgment? Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Compulsory Enforcement Act (強制執行法) lists the enforcement titles (執行名義) on which compulsory enforcement is based. Item 1 names a final, conclusive judgment; item 4 names a notarial deed enforceable under the Notary Act. They are separate titles.

For an obligation that meets Article 13, paragraph 1 and is covered by the deed's enforcement wording, the landlord need not first win a merits judgment: Article 4, paragraph 1, item 4 accepts that deed as a title. The same deed can address return and payment, but each obligation has its own statutory conditions. Enforcement still takes place through the court (Article 1, paragraph 1).

Getting the flat back when the term ends

Item 3 of Article 13, paragraph 1 covers a building or other structure leased or lent for a fixed term and due back when that term expires. Both elements matter. The teacher's invented two-year lease can meet this item if the notarial deed provides for return at the end of that term. A draft that mentions return "when the lease ends" without establishing a fixed term calls for another look.

Nothing in item 3 mentions a return that becomes due because one side ends the lease early, and a lease with no fixed term falls outside its words (Article 13). Nor does the article say that falling behind on rent lets the landlord use the deed to have the tenant removed at once.

Timing matters. Under Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Compulsory Enforcement Act, if a title is subject to a condition, time limit or creditor-provided security, enforcement may begin only after the condition is met, the time arrives or the security is provided, respectively. Return due at the end of a fixed term cannot be enforced before that term expires.

A sum the deed fixes

Item 1 covers a legal act for payment of a fixed quantity of money, other fungible things or securities (Article 13, paragraph 1). A fixed payment stated in the deed may qualify if the deed's enforcement wording covers it. If the payment is due on a specified date, Article 4, paragraph 2 allows enforcement only once that date arrives.

What about repairs? An unquantified bill assessed only after move-out does not satisfy item 1's "fixed quantity" requirement (Article 13, paragraph 1, item 1). The deed's mention of possible future damage does not itself fix a sum. Early termination and deposit settlement raise separate questions, addressed in the early-exit column and the deposit column.

Enforcement is the court's job

Holding the deed does not authorize the landlord to carry out compulsory enforcement personally. Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Compulsory Enforcement Act places civil enforcement with the civil enforcement divisions (民事執行處) of district courts and their branches. Paragraph 2 requires fair and reasonable enforcement that considers the rights and interests of creditors, debtors and other interested persons, uses appropriate methods, and does not exceed what is necessary to achieve its purpose. The deed supplies a title; it does not turn the landlord into an enforcement officer.

Successors, occupiers, and the tenant's lawsuit

Others may be affected after the deed is made. Under Article 13, paragraph 2, the deed also has effect against a person who became a party's successor with respect to that legal act after the deed was made, and against a person possessing the object of the claim for a party or such a successor. Mere presence in the flat does not answer whether that statutory description fits.

There is still a route to court. Under Article 13, paragraph 3, a debtor, successor or possessor who claims the deed cannot be enforced may sue. The court hearing that suit may stay enforcement where necessary. If the applicant for the stay states a willingness to provide security, the court shall set an appropriate security amount and order a stay. Suing alone does not stop enforcement; the court must order it. The paragraph gives no list of grounds on which the deed cannot be enforced.

Before the notary appointment, the teacher and landlord can read the lease and proposed deed side by side. Does the lease establish a fixed term and require return when it expires? Is the payment a fixed quantity, and does the enforcement wording cover each obligation? Those are the distinctions in Article 13, paragraph 1, items 1 and 3. If the deed is in Chinese and the teacher cannot read it, a translation of those passages can help both sides settle the wording before signing.

What a Taiwan lawyer can do in this situation

A Taiwan lawyer can compare the actual lease with the proposed deed: the fixed term, the return obligation at expiry, the fixed sum and the enforcement wording for each. The lawyer can revise language that goes beyond Article 13, paragraph 1, items 1 and 3, of the Notary Act. If enforcement has begun or is threatened, counsel can assess a possible suit under paragraph 3, prepare a claim or response, and represent a party in the resulting civil dispute. Possession does not return automatically on signing a deed.

Hovering International Law Firm is at 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan. To consult an English-speaking lawyer in Taipei, you can email wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw with the lease, draft deed and any enforcement papers.

Official sources

• Notary Act (公證法), Article 13; current text checked, whole-law latest amendment April 3, 2019 (ROC year 108)
• Compulsory Enforcement Act (強制執行法), Article 1 and Article 4; current text checked, whole-law latest amendment May 29, 2019 (ROC year 108)
• Official English translations, used to check wording: The Notary Act, The Compulsory Enforcement Act

Checked: October 16, 2026