Landlord–tenant: duties of the landlord Flashcards
Implied warranty of quiet enjoyment
A tenant may withhold rent when the landlord—or someone claiming through or with superior title to the landlord—takes actions that make the premises wholly or substantially:
(1) Unsuitable for their intended purposes, i.e., that:
(a) The property is free of interference with possession;
(b) The landlord controls the common areas; and
(c) The landlord controls nuisance-like behavior of other tenants; and
(2) The tenant is constructively evicted.
Constructive eviction
A tenant is constructively evicted if:
(1) The landlord has breached a duty, causing loss of substantial use and enjoyment of the premises;
(2) The tenant notifies landlord of problem and reasonable opportunity to cure;
(3) The landlord does not correct the problem; and
(4) The tenant vacates the property after a reasonable amount of time.
Implied warranty of habitability
The implied warranty of habitability only applies to residential leases.
It cannot be waived by the tenant.
A landlord’s failure to comply with applicable housing codes constitutes a breach.
Implied warranty of habitability: remedies
Upon breach of the implied warranty of habitability, unlike with the implied warranty of quiet enjoyment, the tenant need not vacate the premises.
The tenant may:
(1) refuse to pay rent;
(2) remedy the defect and offset the costs against rent; or
(3) defend against eviction.
Implied warranty of quiet enjoyment: contested ownership claims
Even if the landlord’s claim to ownership of the property is contested, the implied warranty of quiet enjoyment is not breached unless the tenant’s possession of the property is disturbed.
Duty to deliver possession
Under the majority rule, the landlord must deliver actual—i.e., physical—possession of the property.
By contrast, the landlord need only deliver legal possession under the minority rule.
Duty to repair
The duty is presumptive in residential leases and is triggered upon notice from the tenant.
By contrast, in commercial leases, the right can be contracted away. A court is unlikely to imply a duty to repair.
Landlord’s tort liability
At common law, the landlord is subject to anegligence standard for:
(1) latent defects, i.e., the landlord must warn tenant;
(2) faulty repairs by landlord; and
(3) injuries in common areas.
Under the modern trend, landlords owe a general duty of reasonable care.
Transfer of the landlord’s interest
The landlord need not provide the tenant with notice, but the new landlord is bound by the existing lease.
Duty to mitigate
Many states impose on the landlord a duty to make reasonable efforts to mitigate damages when a tenant abandons a lease.
What constitutes a reasonable effort depends on the circumstances—but an owner of multiple vacant apartments is typically required only to treat the premises as one of his vacant stock.
