Rent Payment - tinakbuhan po! need help urgent!!!

Hi guys, im just new here and i really hope the lawyers out there can help me.

My problem is this:
My relatives used to rent my dad's house since 2000 ata. Four years ago, the house was transferred under my name. However, my relatives had not been paying my dad for almost 5 years na. We were very generous to them and did not ask for their non-payment. Dahil relatives naman sila, my dad did not bother drafting a contract of lease. Hindi rin nagtaas yung rental payment. My dad did not also impose any ineterests kasi nga wala na nga silang pambayad. yearly, they promis naman na babayaran nila, pero no payment has been received.

But a few months ago, these relatives decided to move-out na. Since the property was under my name and since walang contract of lease for more than 5 years na, i asked them to sign an agreement (including a computation of how much they owe us, broken down into months/years). My relative promised to issue post-dated checks (staggered payments).

So, to cut the long story short, my relatives owe my dad 200k++ in total. The problem is that they promised to start paying this April but they did not sign the Agreement and they did not issue any postdated checks. I am afraid that they will run away from their obligations kasi until now, no checks has been deposited/sent. kawawa naman yung dad ko.

Here are my questions:
1. what should i do? should i send them a demand letter? what should the letter say? please note that they did not sign any written agreement although they verbally agreed to the contents of the agreement.
2. in case they ignore my demand letter, what should i do next?
3. i know i can't file this in small claims court, what case/cases can i file against them.
4. hoping... can i still come after them? can i request an HDO?

thank you sooooo much po. sana matulungan po ninyo ako!

do you and they live in the same municipality or city?

Here are my questions:
1. what should i do? should i send them a demand letter? what should the letter say? please note that they did not sign any written agreement although they verbally agreed to the contents of the agreement.

yes, demand letter is best first step. it should basically state the basis for your demand which is their years of beneficial use of the property under a verbal contract of lease, and demand in X no. of days to make payment. add an offer that you will accept the terms under your proposed agreement and end with a statement that their failure will constrain you to take legal action.


2. in case they ignore my demand letter, what should i do next?
3. i know i can't file this in small claims court, what case/cases can i file against them.
4. hoping... can i still come after them? can i request an HDO?

actually, if you limit your claim to 100k, you can file it in small claims. that may be a good idea because it seems your relatives don't have the money anyway.

if you want the full amount, then you will have to file a regular collection case.

from the facts you gave, i don't see any
crime committed so no HDO can be issued.

hi po! thanks for the advice...

Yes, both of us still live in the same city. The reason im asking about the HDO because my relative is an OFW and leaves the country once in a while. Feeling ko they will just tell me that they didn't receive the letter because wala siya here sa philipines. Altho OFW siya, i dont think enough yung money niya to pay.

Regrading the small claims? pwede bang thwice i-file yun so that aabot siya sa original amount? hehehe thanks po ulit for the reply! God Bless!

no, can't file it twice. if you want that kind of leverage, file a criminal case of estafa. even if it won't prosper, you can have a watchlist order issued against him while the case is still pending resolution. it works like an HDO for 60 days but can be renewed..

Oh! Thank you so much po! AttyLLL! naliwanagan na po ako! marami po talagang salamat!