Landlord/Tenant Law & Servitudes & Adverse Possession

Question 1

Concurrent Estates

Answer 1

Joint Tenancy = 2 or more own w/right of survivorship

Tenancy by the entirety = Martial Interest between married partners w/right of survivorship

Tenancy in common = 2 or more owned w/no right of survivorship

Question 2

Rights & Duties of Co-Tenants

Answer 2

(1) Possession = Each co-T is entitled to possess the WHOLE
(2) Absent ouster, a co-T in exclusive possession is NOT liable for the others for rent
(3) Co-T who leases all or part of the premises to a 3rd Party MUST account to his co-Ts
(4) Unless he has ousted the other co-Ts, one Co-T in exclusive possession for the statutory adverse possession period CANNOT be acquire title to the exclusion of the others
(5) Carrying costs (same fair share of carrying costs like taxes etc.)
(6) Repairs a right to contribution for reasonable and necessary repairs
(7) No right to contribution for “improvements”
(8) Co-T must not commit waste
(9) Right to bring an action for partition

Question 3

4 Leasehold or Non-Freehold Estates

Answer 3

(1) The Tenancy for Years = Fixed Period of Time; No Notice needed to terminate

(2) Periodic Tenancy = Successive intervals until L or T give proper notice to terminate
- Can be expressly
- Can also arise by implication
- Land is leased w/no mention of duration but provision is made for payment of rent at set intervals
- An oral term of years in violation of SOF creates an implied periodic tenancy
- The holdover (residential)

(3) Tenancy at Will = No fixed duration
- Unless parties expressly agree to a tenancy at will, the payment of regular rent will cause a court to treat this as an implied periodic tenancy

(4) Tenancy at Sufferance = Wrongfully heldover
- We give this wrongdoer a leasehold estate to permit L to recover rent

Question 4

Tenant’s Duties

Answer 4

(1) T’s liability to 3rd Parties = Tort Law
(2) T’s duty to repair = Maintain & make ordinary repairs
- & don’t commit waste
- law of fixtures & waste doctrine (when a T removes a fixture she commits voluntary waste)
- Fixtures pass w/ownership of the land
(3) T’s duty to pay rent =
- T breaches this duty and is in possession of the premises (evict & still entitled to rent)
- T breaches this duty but is out of possession (Remember SIR: Surrender, Ignore the abandonment & hold T responsible for unpaid rent
- Re-let the premises on the wrongdoer T’s behalf, & hold him or her liable for any deficiency

Question 5

LL’s Duties

Answer 5

(1) Duty to Deliver Possession
(2) The Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment
- Will be tested
- Both residential & commercial
(3) Implied Warranty of Habitability (applies only to residential)

Question 6

Assignment Vs. Sublease

Answer 6

Assignment = T may freely transfer his or her interest in whole

Sublease = T may freely transfer PART of his or her interest

Question 7

LL Tort Liability

Answer 7

In tort, L was under NO DUTY to make the premises safe.

5 exceptions (CLAPS) = Common Areas, Latent Defects Rule, Assumption of Repairs, Public Use Rule, Short Term Lease of Furnished Dwelling

Question 8

Easements & See Summary of Servitudes (Pg. 48)

Answer 8

Easements (Negative easements can only be created expressly, by writing signed by the grantor)

• Creation of an Affirmative Easement = PING (Prescription, Implication, Necessity, Grant)
• Can occur w/Adverse Possession too = COAH (Continuous use…Open & Notorious…Actual Use…Hostile Use)
• Termination of an easement = END CRAMP (Estoppel, Necessity, Destruction, Condemnation, Release, Abandonment, Merger Doctrine, Prescription)

Question 9

The License

Answer 9

A mere privilege to enter another’s land for a delineated purpose. (Broadway Show Ticket story)

NOT subject to SOF (so no writing needed)
Licenses are freely revocable at the will of the licensor, unless estoppel applies to bar revocation.
-Ticket Cases
-Neighbors talking by the fence

Question 10

The Profit

Answer 10

Entitles its holder to enter the servient land and take from it the soil or some substance etc.

The Profit Shares ALL the rules of easements

Question 11

The Covenant

Answer 11

Promise to do something or not do something related to land

Unlike the easement b/c it is not the grant of property interest, but rather a Contractual Limitation or promise regarding the land.

Elements Necessary for the Burden to Run = WITHN

• Writing
• Intent
• Touch & Concern the Land
• Horizontal & Vertical Privity
• Notice

Horizontal Privity is NOT required for the benefit to run

Question 12

Equitable Servitudes

Answer 12

Is a promise that equity will enforce against successors. It is accompanied by injunctive relief.

WITNES = Writing; Intent; Touch & Concern; Notice
-Privity is NOT required to bind Successors

AIR = Actual Notice; Inquiry Notice; Record Notice

Question 13

Adverse Possession

Answer 13

Possession for a statutorily prescribed period of time can, if certain elements are met ripen into title.

COAH (Continuous; Open & Notorious; Actual; Hostile)

• Possessor’s Subjective State of Mind is Irrelevant
• Tacking & Disabilities