A Chiayi court has ordered a tenant to pay her landlord more than NT$1 million after her son killed himself in the rented property, a win for the landlord in a case about who bears the loss when a home becomes stigmatized.

• The woman rented a house in Chiayi County from mid-2025 through 2028 for use as a Rotary Club meeting place, but fell behind on rent within two months.
• Her son took his own life inside the house three months into the lease; she did not tell the landlord and instead said she wanted out because she had slipped and hurt herself and a snake had gotten into the house.
• The landlord only learned the truth from a neighbor and sued for NT$3.5 million, saying the property had become a "haunted house" that no one wants to buy.
• An appraisal firm put the loss in market value at just over NT$910,000, and the court added the unpaid rent to reach a total of NT$1,073,731.
• The court rejected her argument that the lease had quietly ended, ruling she still held the property and never gave the required two months' notice.

Outlook: The ruling can still be appealed, and it strengthens the hand of Taiwanese landlords seeking damages when a death on the premises destroys a property's resale value.