If the landlord maintains that he has not received the rent while the occupant insists that he has already paid, the matter is examined.

• Should the contract require payment month-by-month, the tenant’s word—confirmed by an oath—prevails for the month in which he moved out, provided that a period longer than the customarily tolerated delay for rent collection has since elapsed.
• If that much time has not passed, the landlord’s sworn statement is accepted without exception.

The same reasoning applies when rent is payable yearly in arrears: the landlord’s word is upheld, save for the portion of the term that has already expired and for which an equivalent lapse of time has likewise passed.