Landlord Duties

Question 1

Duty to Deliver Possession

Answer 1

The landlord must put the Tenant in actual physical possession of the premises at the start of the lease. A landlord is in breach if he has not evicted a holdover tenant. Here,

Landlords are not responsible for homeless persons or squatters that may have moved onto the property.

Question 2

Implied Warranty of Habitability (Always raise with Implied Covenant of Quiet Use and Enjoyment)

Answer 2

The implied warranty of habitability is a non-waivable duty that states that the premises must be fit for basic human habitation. In the even of a breach, the Tenant may either 1) terminate the lease, 2) repair and deduct, 3) abate rent to an amount equal to fair market value in view of defects, 4) remain in possession, pay full rent, and sue for damages. Here,

NOT applicable to commercial leases. Raise and dismiss

Question 3

Implied Covenant of Quiet Use and Enjoyment (Always raise with Implied Warranty of Habitability)

Answer 3

Every lease has an implied covenant of quiet use and enjoyment, meaning that the landlord will not interfere with the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and possession of the premises. This covenant may be breached by either actual wrongful eviction or constructive eviction. Here,

Question 4

Actual Wrongful Eviction

Answer 4

Actual wrongful eviction occurs when the landlord excludes the tenant from the ENTIRE leased premises. Actual eviction terminates the tenant’s duty to pay rent. Here,

Question 5

Partial Eviction (Always raise with Constructive Eviction)

Answer 5

A partial eviction occurs when the tenant is physically excluded from part of the leased premises. A partial eviction by a landlord relieves the tenant of the obligation to pay rent for the entire premises, even though the tenant still possess the remainder. Here,

Question 6

Constructive Eviction

Answer 6

If the landlord does something or fails to do something that renders the property uninhabitable, the tenant may terminate the lease and seek damages. In order for the tenant to recover, the conditions must be the result of substantial interference by the landlord, the tenant must have given the landlord notice of the problem and he failed to act meaningfully, and the tenant must vacate the premises within a reasonable time. Here,

Question 7

No Retaliatory Evictions

Answer 7

A landlord may not terminate a lease or otherwise penalize a tenant in retaliation for the tenant’s exercise of his legal rights, including reporting housing or building code violations. Here,

Question 8

No Self Help

Answer 8

A landlord may not engage in self-help with regard to landlord/tenant issues. This means that a landlord may not remove a breaching or defaulting tenant’s possessions or bar such a tenant’s access to the leasehold without first resorting to judicial measures. Here,

Question 9

Duty to Mitigate

Answer 9

A landlord must make reasonable efforts to try and mitigate damages after the tenant has breached his duty and is out of possession of the property. Landlord may not hold the tenant liable for any deficiency if a suitable tenant was readily available to re let the premises. Here,

Question 10

Contract Defenses

Answer 10

The lease is a contract and is thus subject to any contract defenses for non-performance. Here,

Question 11

Frustration of Purpose

Answer 11

If, due to an unforeseen event, the primary purpose for which the lease was entered into is now obsolete, the breaching party may be excused from performance, so long as both parties knew at the formation of the contract that the contract was being entered into for that primary purpose. Here,