DE Landlord/Tenant Rules Flashcards
Jurisdiction
JP Court has exclusive jx over all ll/t actions
Oral Leases
May be oral so long as they do not conflict with the statute of frauds. DE implies month-to-month
Lease Requirements
The security deposit must be only for 1 months rent.
Warranties
- Implied Warranty of Habitability
- Quiet Enjoyment
Implied Warranty of Habitability
- LL may not endanger the health, safety, and welfare.
- Premises is fit for purpose of human habitation.
- If breached, tenant can terminate.
Warranty of Quiet Enjoyment
- Landlord is obligated to give quiet enjoyment of the property.
- If breached, tenant can terminate and is not responsible for payment of rent because breach is deemed a constructive eviction.
Right to Repair and Deduct
If a landlord fails to repair anything, the landlord is obligated to repair after:
1. notice within 30 days and fails to initiate repairs; or
2. after 10 days of notice, the tenant can repair and deduct from the cost of rent
It must be a reasonable cost for repairs.
The tenant can repair and deduct, but must not exceed the lesser of:
1. $200; or
2. 1/2 of 1 months rent
Self Help Eviction
Not allowed in DE. If LL exercises self-help, LL is liable to pay the greater of:
1. treble damages; or
2. 3x the per diem rent per day of exclusion
Lease Termination by relocation
A tenant who is relocated by his present employer to a location that requires a change in the location of the tenant’s residence in excess of 30 miles can terminate a lease by giving the landlord 30 days notice.
How long do LLs have to cure defects in the rental property?
15 days to begin to cure any defects.
If a substantial portion of the prop is deprived from T, T can terminate if LL fails to correct w/in 15 days of notice from T.
If such condition renders the premises uninhabitable or the condition poses imminent threat to safety, health, or welfare of the tenant or their family, the tenant may immediately terminate the lease if the tenant gives notice.
Lack of Essentials
If the tenant is without hot water, water, heat, or electricity in the leased property for more than 48 hours after the tenant gave notice to the landlord, the tenant may either:
a. immediately terminate the lease; or
b. keep 2/3 rent per diem until repair has been made
The LL may use impossibility of performance as a defense.
LL Damages
DE law requires the landlord to provide the tenant, within 20 days after termination of the rental agreement, a list of damages and the estimated cost of repair of the same and that the failure to do so constitutes an acknowledgment by the landlord that no payment for damages is due.
Security Deposit
- May not exceed 1 months rent.
- DE law provides that the failure of the landlord to remit to the tenant the amount of the security deposit remaining after setting off from the same the cost of repairs entitles the tenant to double the amount wrongfully withheld.
- The landlord is required to give notice within a reasonable time to the tenant that they will apply the security deposit to the delinquent rent payment.
a. If the landlord fails to provide such notice, then the tenant is entitled to double the amount of the security deposit.
Pet Deposits
Cannot Exceed 1 month’s rent.
Notice of Termination
a. A person has notice of a fact if the person has actual knowledge of it or, from all the facts and circumstances known at the time in question, such person has reason to know that it exists.
b. In a notice, the tenant is required to provide the tenant’s forwarding address.
