Real Property - Landlord Tenant

Front 1

Tenancy for Years / Term of Years / Estate for Years

Back 1

1. This is a lease for a fixed, determined period of time. You must know the termination date from the start.
2. No notice is needed to terminate a tenancy for years.
3. Term greater than one year must be in writing to be enforceable b/c of SoF.

Front 2

Periodic Tenancy

Back 2

Lease which continues for successive or continuous intervals until the landlord or tenant gives proper notice of termination.

Front 3

Creation of a Periodic Tenancy
- Expressly

Back 3

(1) Expressly (month-to-month, year-to-year, week-to-week).

Front 4

Creation of a Periodic Tenancy
- by IMPLICATION in one of three ways:

Back 4

i. Land is leased with no mention of duration, but provision is made for the payment of rent at set intervals.
ii. An oral term of years in violation of the SoF creates an implied periodic tenancy measured by the way rent is tendered.
iii. Holdover: In a residential lease, if the landlord elects to holdover a tenant who has wrongfully stayed on past conclusion of the original lease, an IMPLIED lease of this type arises measured by the way rent is now tendered.

Front 5

Terminating a Periodic Tenancy
- Notice Requirement

Back 5

Usually written notice must be given.
- Notice must be at least equal to the length of the period itself, unless otherwise agreed. (i.e. month-to-month periodic tenancy requires one month’s notice).
EXCEPTION:

Front 6

Terminating a Periodic Tenancy
- Exception to giving notice

Back 6

A year-to-year tenancy only requires six months notice.
- Parties may lengthen or shorten common law notice provisions by private agreement.
- Must end at the conclusion of a natural lease period.

Front 7

Tenancy at Will

Back 7

Tenancy for no fixed period of duration
- may be terminated by either party at any time, however a reasonable demand to vacate is typically required
- rare

Front 8

Tenancy at Sufferance / Hold Over Doctrine

Back 8

1. Created when the tenant has wrongfully held over past the expiration of the lease.
2. Gives the landlord the opportunity to recover rent.
3. This lasts only until landlord either evicts the tenant or elects to hold tenant to a new tenancy.

Front 9

Tenant's Duties

Liability to Third Persons (tort law)

Back 9

1. T is responsible for keeping the premises in reasonably good repair.
2. T is liable for injuries sustained by third parties T invited, even where the landlord expressly promised to make all repairs.

Front 10

Tenant's Duty to Repair
- Liability for loss to the property

Back 10

1. General Doctrine – T must maintain the premises and make ordinary repairs.
2. T must not commit waste
3. When T has expressly covenanted in the lease to maintain the property in good condition for the duration of the lease:
a. At CL historically: T liable for any loss to the property, including loss due to the force of nature.
b. Today, the majority view: T may end the lease when the premises are destroyed without T’s fault.

Front 11

3 Types of Waste

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a. Voluntary/Affirmative waste – overt, harmful acts
b. Permissive waste – neglect
c. Ameliorative waste – alterations that increase the premises’ value.
3. The Law of Fixtures goes hand-in-hand with waste.

Front 12

Tenant's Duty to Pay Rent
- If T breaches this duty and is in possession of the premises:

Back 12

L can only:
a. evict through the courts, terminate lease, or
b. continue the relationship and sue for rent due.
c. L must not engage in self-help (changing the locks, forcibly removing T, removing T’s possessions). Self-help is civilly and criminally punished.

Front 13

Tenant's Duty to Pay Rent
- If T breaches duty but is out of possession (T wrongfully vacates with time left on term of years lease),

Back 13

L could: (SIR)
a. Choose to treat T’s abandonment as an implicit offer of SURRENDER (T demonstrates by words or actions that she wishes to give up the leasehold) which L accepts
- If unexpired term is greater than one year, surrender must be in writing to satisfy the SoF.
b. Ignore the abandonment and hold T responsible for unpaid rent, just as if T were still there (only in minority of states).
c. Re-let the premises on the wrongdoer tenant’s behalf, and hold him liable for any deficiencies.
i. Majority says L must try to re-let in order to mitigate damages.

Front 14

Landlord's Duties (3)

Back 14

- Duty to deliver possession
- Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment
- Implied Warranty of Habitability
- Tort Liability

Front 15

Landlord's Duty to Deliver Possession

Back 15

1. Majority rule requires that L put T in actual physical possession of the premises.
2. Minority rule aka American Rule – does not require that L put T in actual, physical possession. L need only provide T with legal possession.

Front 16

Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment

Back 16

1. L's duty applies to both residential and commercial leases.
2. T has a right to quiet use and enjoyment of premises w/o interference from L.
a. Breach by wrongful eviction – occurs when L wrongfully evicts T or excludes T from the premises.
b. Breach by constructive eviction (SING):
i. Substantial Interference – due to L’s actions or failure to act.
ii. Notice – T must give L notice of the problem, and L must fail to respond meaningfully.
iii. Goodbye – T must vacate within a reasonable time after L fails to fix the problem.

Front 17

Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment
- L's liability for acts of other tenants

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3. L not liable for acts of other tenants
a. Two exceptions:
i. L has a duty not to permit a nuisance on the premises.
ii. L must control common areas.

Front 18

Implied Warranty of Habitability

Back 18

1. L's duty that applies ONLY to residential leases.
2. Non-waivable.
3. The premises must be fit for basic human habitation. Bare living requirements must be met (modest baseline).
- Appropriate standard may be supplied by local housing code or court conclusion.
- Sorts of problems that trigger breach include: no heat in winter, no plumbing, no running water.

Front 19

Landlord's Tort Liability:
- L under no duty to make the premises safe. (“Let the tenant beware.”)
- EXCEPTIONS: (5)

Back 19

(CLAPS)
1. Common areas – L must maintain all common areas (hallways & stairwells)
2. Latent defects rule – L must warn T of hidden defects of which L has knowledge or reason to know.
3. Assumption of repairs – L who voluntarily assumes repairs must complete them with reasonable care.
4. Public use rule – L who leases public space and who should know, because of nature of the defect and length of the lease, that T will not repair, is liable for any defects on the premises.
5. Short-term lease of furnished dwelling – L is responsible for any defect which harms T.

Front 20

Tenant’s entitlements when Implied Warranty of Habitability is breached by the Landlord

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(MRRR)
a. Move out and terminate the lease
b. Repair and deduct – allowable by statute in growing number of jurisdictions. T may make the reasonable repairs and deduct their cost from future rent.
c. Reduce Rent – or withhold rent until the court determines fair rental value.
d. Remain in possession – pay rent and affirmatively seek money damages.
e. T could vacate but doesn’t have to – more lenient/generous array of remedial options.

Front 21

Retaliatory Eviction

Back 21

If T lawfully reports L for housing code violations, L is barred from penalizing T, by raising rent, ending the lease, harassing T, taking reprisals, or retaliations.

Front 22

Assignment

Back 22

In absence of express restriction in lease, T may freely transfer her entire leasehold interest.
- T2 stands in shoes of original T.
- L and T2 are in privity of estate, liable to each other for all the covenants in the original lease that run with the land (original parties must intend and cov's much touch and concern the leased land).
- L and T2 are NOT in privity of K unless T2 expressly assumes all promises in the original lease.
- L and T1 are secondarily liable to each other (privity of K).

Front 23

Sublease

Back 23

T transfers her leasehold interest in part (absent express restriction in lease).
- L and sublessees are in neither privity of estate nor privity of contract.
- They share no nexus. T2 is responsible to T1, and vise versa.