Property Landlord/tenant

Front 1

TENANTS DUTIES

Back 1

1. Duty to Repair(reasonable, common,must not commit waste)
2. Duty to Pay Rent

Front 2

TENANTS DUTIES
(Fixtures)

Back 2

"A fixture is a once movable chattel (thing), that is tied to real property, that OBJECTIVELY,shows the intent to improve the reality.
1. A tenant may not remove the fixtures "regardless of if she installed them",and they pass with ownership to the land.
2. Two ways to know if it is a "fixture"
a. a private agreement on the matter is controlling.
b. in the absence of a private agreement, the tenant may remove if it does not cause substantial harm to the premises.
c. If they cannot be removed without causing substantial harm, then it is a fixture which can not be removed.

Front 3

TENANTS DUTIES
(Rent T still in Possession)

Back 3

1) LL has two options:
Evict through the courts and sue for rent owed.
Continue the relationship w/this tenant, and sue for the rent owed.
Note: LL must not engage in self-help: LL must not change the locks or forcibly
remove T or any of T's possessions. Self-help is punishable civilly and criminally.

Front 4

TENANTS DUTIES
(Rent T Not in Possession)

Back 4

SIR
1) S = Surrender: LL can choose to treat T's abandonment as an implicit offer of surrender
which LL accepts.
Surrender means that T demonstrates by words or conduct that she wishes to give up
the leasehold.
2) I = Ignore: LL can ignore the abandonment and hold T responsible for rent, just as
though T were still there.
This option available only in a minority of states.
3) R = Relet: The LL can re-let premises on T's behalf and hold T liable for any deficiency.
Majority rule: LL must at least try to relet. LL must be duly diligent in at least
attempting to find a substitute tenant. (LL must make a good faith effort to mitigate
losses.)

Front 5

LANDLORDS DUTIES

Back 5

1. Duty to Possession
2. Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment**
3. Implied Warranty of Habitability
4. Doctrine of Retaliatory Eviction

Front 6

Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment

Back 6

Applies to both residential and commercial leases. A
fundamental, implicit promise that every LL makes: T has a right to quiet use and enjoyment of the premises w/out interference from LL.
Landlord can breach in two ways.

Front 7

Breaches of Implied Covenant

Back 7

1.By Actual or Wrongful Eviction or Exclusion
2. CONSTRUCTIVE EVICTION (CE)

Front 8

CONSTRUCTIVE EVICTION

Back 8

Elements of CE = SING
SI = Substantial Interference attributable to LL's actions or failure to act. Does not nec.
mean permanent interference; looking for a chronic problem that's fundamentally
incompatible w/T's quiet enjoyment.
N = Notice: T must give LL notice of the problem and LL must fail to respond
meaningfully.
G = Goodbye or Get out: T must vacate w/in a reasonable time after L fails to correct
the problem.

Front 9

Is the Landlord Liable for the Bothersome Behavior of Other Cotenants?

Back 9

Generally No, exceptions:

1) LL has a duty not to permit a nuisance on the premises. I.e., if LL rents apt. above you
to a dance troupe and the noise drives you nuts, LL is liable.
2) LL has a duty to control and police common areas.

Front 10

IMPLIED WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY

Back 10

Premises must be fit for basic human habitation; bare
living requirements must be met.
i. Applies only to residential leases.
ii. Non-waiveable; a T cannot modify or displace this entitlement.
iii. Appropriate standard could be satisfied in 2 ways:
1) local housing code
2) independent judicial conclusion

Front 11

IMPLIED WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY (Tenants Remedies)

Back 11

Mr. Cubed (MRRR)
1) M = Move out and terminate the lease.
2) R = Repair and deduct. Allowed by statute in a growing number of states.
3) R = Reduce rent or withhold all rent until ct. determines fair rental value. Typically T
must place withheld monies in escrow to show good faith.
4) R = Remain in possession, pay rent, and sue for money damages.

Front 12

DOCTRINE OF RETALIATORY EVICTION

Back 12

If T lawfully reports LL for a housing code violation or similar (if T is a good faith
whistleblower), LL is barred from penalizing T.

Front 13

May a tenant assign or sublease her interest?

Back 13

Unless the lease says otherwise, the law allows the tenant to transfer his/her interest.

Front 14

ASSIGNMENT
(Privity of Estate, Privity of Contract)

Back 14

1. As to T2 - privity of estate but not of contract.
2. As to T1 - still in privity of contract, but not in privity of estate.
3. As to T3, privity of estate, but not K, T1 still privity of K, T2...nothing.

Front 15

SUBLEASE

Back 15

L1 and T1 still in privity of both a state and contract, T2 only accountable to T1.

Front 16

EASEMENTS

Back 16

The grant of a non-possessory property interest that entitles its holder to some form of
use or enjoyment of another's land that is called "the servient tenement."

Front 17

EASEMENTS
(2 Types)

Back 17

1. Affirmative Easements
2. Negative Easements

Front 18

NEGATIVE EASEMENTS

Back 18

Entitles its holder to compel the servient holder to refrain from doing something that would otherwise be permissible.

Front 19

NEGATIVE EASEMENTS
(4 Types)

Back 19

LASS
Light—refrain from doing something to block my light (i.e. the John Hancock building
in downtown Boston is reflective because the Trinity Church has a negative easement
for light over the Hancock building)
Air—refrain from doing something to block my air
Support—refrain from excavating or digging on your parcel in a way that would cause
subsidence, etc. on my parcel.
Streamwater from an artificial flow—refrain from doing something that would
(A few jurisdictions (i.e. CA) allow a negative easement for a scenic view.)
2) Negative easements can only be created expressly in a writing signed by the Grantor.

Front 20

Appurtenant v. In Gross

Back 20

An easement is appurtenant to land when it benefits the holder in his physical use or
enjoyment of his property. It takes two.

An easement is held in gross when it gives its holder only a personal or commercial
gain that is not related to his use and enjoyment of his land. Here, servient land is
burdened, but there is no dominant tenement.

Front 21

Appurtenant Easement

Back 21

an easement is appurtenant when two parcels of land are involved:
A dominant tenement which derives the benefit of the easement.
A servient tenement which bears the burden of the easement.
i.e.: A grants B a right of way across A's land (1—the servient tenement), so that B
can more easily reach B's land (2—the dominant tenement). B has an easement
appurtenant to B's dominant tenement. A's land is serving B's easement.
Transferability: Appurtenant easements transfer automatically w/the dominant
tenement, regardless of whether it is even mentioned w/the conveyance.

Front 22

In Gross Easement

Back 22

i.e.: Right to place a billboard on servient land requires an easement in gross. Right
to lay power lines on another's land, or to fish in another's lake, etc. —all easements
in gross. Servient land is burdened, but there is no dominant tenement.
An easement in gross is not transferable unless it is for a commercial purpose:
i.e: A has easement entitling her to swim in B's lake. This is not freely assignable or transferable.
If Starkist has easement entitling it to fish in B's lake for bait, that's commercial
and transferable.

Front 23

AFFIRMATIVE EASEMENTS
(4 Ways to Get One)

Back 23

PING
1. Prescriptive
2. Implication
3. Necessity
4. Grant

Front 24

PRESCRIPTIVE EASEMENT
(Same As Adverse Possession)

Back 24

An easement may be acquired by satisfying the elements of adverse possession
(COAH)
C = Continuous use for given statutory period
O = Open and Notorious use
A = Actual use
H = Hostile use, meaning w/out the servient owner's permission
or:
ECHO
Exclusive
Continuous
Hostile
Open & Notorious

Front 25

IMPLICATED EASEMENT

Back 25

Sometimes called the easement implied from existing use. Classic prototype:
A owns 2 lots. Lot1 is hooked to sewer drain located on Lot2. A sells 1 to B, w/no mention of B's right to continue to use the drain on A's Lot2. The law may imply an
easement on B's behalf if:
the previous use had been apparent, and the parties expected that the use would survive division b/c it is reasonably necessary to the dominant land's use and enjoyment.

Front 26

EASEMENT BY GRANT

Back 26

An easement to endure for more than one year must be in a writing that complies w/the
formal elements of a deed b/c of the SOF. The writing is called a deed of easement.

Front 27

Licenses

Back 27

1. A mere privilege to enter another's land for some delineated purpose.
2. No writing required; not subject to SOF; a much more informal species of servitude.
3. Licenses are freely revocable at will of licensor, unless estoppel applies to bar revocation.

Front 28

Licenses
(Classic Types)

Back 28

a. The ticket cases: Tickets create freely revocable licenses.
i. i.e.: You purchase tickets to theater, all other ticket holders are admitted except you. Can they do that? Yes.
b. Neighbors talking by the fence: Nothing good comes when neighbors are talking by the fence.
(Oral promises only create freely revocable licenses.)
i. Suppose A talking by fence w/B says "You can have that right of way across my front
lawn." That oral easement is unenforceable—it violates the SOF. Instead, this oral
easement creates a freely-revocable license.

Front 29

Licenses
(Revocation)

Back 29

Estoppel will apply to bar revocation, but only when licensee has invested substantial money or labor or both in reasonable reliance on the license's continuation.
 Licenses are normally revocable at will, but if a licensee invests substantial amount of money or labor in reliance on the license, it can become an easement by estoppel, but lasts ONLY UNTIL the licensee gets sufficient benefit to recoup his investment.

Front 30

PROFITS

Back 30

Entitles the holder to enter the servient land and take from it the soil, timber,or some substance from the land.
CAN be extinguished if they are overused!
Easements and profits share ALL the same rules.