Landlord's Duties Flashcards
What are the landlords duties under the lease?
- duty to deliver possession
- implied covenant of quiet enjoyment
- implied warranty of habitability
- no retaliatory eviction
- abide by anti-discrimination laws
What is the landlord’s duty to deliver possession?
The landlord must put the tenant in actual physical possession of the premises at the beginning of the lease term. (e.g., no holdovers)
What is the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment? What are two ways the landlord can breach?
The implied covenant of quiet enjoyment states that the tenant has the right to quiet use and enjoyment of the premises without interference from the landlord or another former title holder.
Landlord breaches by either (a) wrongful eviction or (b) constructive eviction.
What is wrongful eviction? What is constructive eviction? What is the legal effect of each?
Wrongful eviction is either (a) actual eviction or (b) partial eviction. Actual eviction occurs when the landlord/holdover tenant/etc. excludes the tenant from the entire premises. This terminates the tenant’s obligation to pay rent.
Partial eviction occurs when the tenant is excluded from only part of the premises. If partial eviction is by the landlord, then tenant doesn’t have to pay rent for the entire premises.
Constructive eviction occurs when the landlord’s breach of duty of quiet enjoyment renders the premises unsuitable for occupancy (e.g. apartment flooding). In this case, tenant may terminate the lease and seek damages. (Tenant MUST move out to do so though)
What does tenant need to show to prove landlord breached covenant of quiet enjoyment by constructive eviction?
SING:
- issue substantially interferes with quiet enjoyment of the premises
- notice - tenant gave landlord notice and reasonable time to fix the issue
- goodbye - tenant vacated premises after reasonable amount of time given to landlord to fix issue
When is a landlord liable to a tenant for acts of other tenants?
Generally not, but landlord does have (a) duty to abate a nuisance and (b) must control common areas.
What is the implied warranty of habitability? What may a tenant do if this is breached?
The implied warranty of habitability applies only to residential tenants and is nonwaivable. It says that the premises must be fit for basic human habitation - bare living requirements must be met.
When the landlord breaches the implied warranty of habitability, the tenant has 4 options: (MR3)
- move out and terminate the leasr
- repair and deduct the cost of repair from rent
- reduce rent or withhold rend until the court determined fair rental value
- remain in possession, pay full rent, and seek money damages
Note: this is different from constructive eviction claim, where P NEEDS to move out in order to win the claim.
What is the rule against retaliatory eviction?
In general, landlords may not retaliate against tenant who exercises legal rights (e.g. reporting landlord) by raising rent, harassment, eviction, ending lease, etc.
If landlord acts within 90-180 days after tenant action then is presumed retaliation.
What does the Civil Rights Act prohibit?
Bars racial or ethnic discrimination in the sale or rental of all property.
What does the Fair Housing Act prohibit? What are exceptions to the FHA?
FHA makes it unlawful to take the following actions based on a persons race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin:
- refuse to negotiate, rent, sell house, make available mortgage loan
- provide different terms or conditions for sell/rental
- falsely represent that dwelling is not available for inspection, sale, rental
- make, print or public (includes newspapers liability) advertisement that indicates preference or limitation based on protected classes
Exceptions - act does not apply to (except for advertisement section):
(1) owner-occupied buildings with 4 or less units in which persons live independently of each other
(2) single-family homes sold or rented by an owner who owns no more than 3 single family homes
What is required of landlords wrt disabled tenants under the FHA?
Under the FHA, landlords are req’d to allow disabled tenants to make reasonable modifications to premises at the tenants own expense + landlord makes reasonable accommodations to existing policies/rules/services
