Landlord- Tenant Flashcards
Fair Housing Act
Cannot refuse to sell/rent the making of an offer or to refuse to negotiate for sale/rental bc of the following:
* race
* color
* religion
* sex
* disability
* familial status
* national origin
Here, the BOP is on the plaintiff to show O’s discriminatory intent.
FHA in advertising?
FHA forbids the discrimination in the making, printing, or publishing of an advertisement.
Neithamer
Rule: to est. prima facie case of discrimination, plaintiff must show:
1. they are a member of a protected class and the def knew or suspected
2. he applied for and was qualified to rent the property
3. def rejected the application
4. property remained available thereafter
Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roomate.com
Rule: it is not unlawful to discriminate in selecting a roomate becaise the FHA does not apply to the sharing of living units.
- note: although there are exceptions to the Fair Housing Act, the Act’s prohibition on discriminatory advertising applies to all dwelings.
Non Freehold Estates
A nonfreehold estate is an estate whoch gives the right to possess the property but not title to hold the property.
- rent basically
- usually called leaseholds or tenancies
4 types of landlord-tenant relationships
- tenancy for years
- periodic tenancy
- tenancy at will
- tenancy at sufferance
NFE- Terms of years
fixed duration that is agreed upon in advance, once term ends the tenant’s possessory right automatically expires, and landlord may retake possession of the premises.
L leases greenacre to T “from July 1,2015 to June 30, 2025”
NFE- periodic tenancy
automatically renewed for successive periods unless the landlord or tenant terminated the tenancy by giving advanced notice.
L leases Greenacre “to T from month to month, beginning July 1, 2021”
NFE- tenancy at will
no fixed ending point, rather continues only so long as both the landlord and the tenant desire.
- often rises w/out an express agreement
If L leases Greenacre to T “for as long as both of us wish” this creates a tenancy at will
NFE- Tenancy at sufferance
Created when a personw ho rightfully took possession of teh land continues in possession after that right ends.
- arises from improper conduct, not from an agreement.
- convenient label for the wrongful occupancy.
L and T enter into a 12 year terms of year tenancy agreement for Greenacre on January 1, 2012. The tenancy ends at midnight on Dec 31, 2023 but T wrongful continues possession becoming a holdover tenant. T aint wanna leave basically- a holdover tenant .
Tenancy at Sufferance- CL provides two solutions
- Treat T as a trespasser and evict
- renew T’s tenancy for another term
Keydata Corp v. U.S. : NASA case
Rule-
American rule: lease is solely a right to occupy, lesee must take possession of the premises. tenant has the right to take possession and canbring an action to evict.
English rule- landlord must deliver actual possession of the premises at the start of the term. when the lease is silent, the landlord is responsible for delivery of the premises.
- where lessee cannot take possession b/c of a holdover tenant, then landlord is in breach of obligation and the tenant can terminate the lease.
Conditions of the Premises
this all has to do with the conditions of the premises- think repairs, etc.
Constructive Eviction
- a defense for the tenant to not have to pay for missed rent or breaking the lease.
wrongful conduct by the landlord that substantially interfered w/ the tenant’s beneficial use and enjoyment of leased premises.
- wrongful conduct may be satisdied by an act or an ommission (failure to do an act)
Constructive Eviction- When an Omission is Wrongful
- landlord fails to perform an obligation in the lease
- landlord fails to adequately maintain and control the common area
- breaches a statuatory duty owed to the tenant
- fails to perform promised repairs
- allows nuisance-like behavior
The 2 Constructive Evictions that Courts usually focus on-
- Landlord or agent committed a material act or omossoon which substantially interfered with use and enjoyment of the premises for their leased purpose
- tenant abandoned the premises within a reaosnable period of time after the act or omission
CE- Implied covenant of quiet enjoyment
a promise by the landlord that he would noy wrongfully interfere with the tenant’s possession
- if the landlord physicaly evicted the tenant, this breached the covenant of quiet enjoyment and ended the lease.
CE- Implied covenant of quiet enjoyment
Fidelity Mutual (anti abortion protestors)
facts- 3rd part anti abortion protestors. LL failed to remove them.
substantial interference- ommission by a ll which reult in the parties lack of access to the office of a practicing physician is “permanent deprivation of enjoyment.”
LL had a legal right to control 3p, yet still failed to do so.
T abandons reasonable period of time- tenant complained to LL and LL still did nothing so they left.
this is a constructive eviction example
CE- Implied covenant of quiet enjoyment
Paoulucci (jewelry store)
facts- P rents jewelry store in mall. LL failed to deal with loud neighbor video store next door. P starts complaning bc the noise and vibrations made things walls shake. he made over 500 complaints. LL sues p for overdue rent from abandoning.
rule: tenant waives any claim of constructive eviction by failing to vacate the premises whithin a reasonable time after the occurence of the condition that made the premises untenantable.
Analysis- tenant. may not have to evacuate immediately, but within a reaosnable time. claim is waived if the tenant unreasonably delays abandoning the premises.
- Here, the condition definietly called for CE and met the element. However, it was not done in reasonable time- around 10 years.
did not constitute constructive eviction. big on reasonable time.
Conditions of Premises- Implied Warranty of Habitability
doctrine that protects residential tenants from defective housing conditions- requires LL to maintain “bare living requirements”
* Adopted b/c problem with constructive eviction is that tenant must **vacate **to assert the defense.
Elements of Implied Warranty of Habitability
- warranty requires that the landlord maintain “bare living requirements” and that the premises are fit for human occupation.
- tenant must notify LL about defects
- LL must have reaosnable time to repair material defects before a breach can be established.
Remedies to- Implied Warranty of Habitability
- withhold rent
- repair and deduct
- sue for damages
- terminate the lease
Ending the Tenancy- 3 main ways
- surrender
- abandonment
- eviction
Surrender
T and LL could mutually agree to terminate the lease early
