Landlord/Tenant Law - Tenant's Duties Flashcards
The Four Leasehold Estates/Nonfreehold Estates:
1) The Tenancy for Years; 2) The Periodic Tenancy; 3) The Tenancy at Will; 4) The Tenancy at Sufferance.
The Tenancy for Years is a lease for
a fixed period. Termination date from the start creates a term of years, and as a result no notice is needed to terminate.
When will a Tenancy for Years need a writing?
When the term of years is greater than one year, because of the Statute of Frauds.
If a term of years violates the statute of frauds (i.e. is > 1 year and oral), this creates
an implied Periodic Tenancy, measured by the way rent is tendered.
The Periodic Tenancy. This lease continues for:
successive intervals, until L or T gives proper notice to terminate.
How to terminate periodic tenancy:
Notice, usually written, in advance of at least half of the length of the period itself. E.g. month-to-month terminated with 1 month’s notice; week-to-week periodic tenancy terminated with 1 week’s notice; year-to-year tenancy terminated with 6 month’s notice.
May the parties lengthen or shorten the prescribed notice provisions of a periodic tenancy?
YES, by private agreement, pursuant to the Freedom of Contract.
The Tenancy at Will is
a tenancy for no fixed duration.
Generally a Tenancy at Will will be treated as
an implied Periodic Tenancy.
Tenancy at Will may be terminated
by either party, at any time, although reasonable notice is usually required.
The Tenancy at Sufferance is created when
Tenant has wrongfully held over past the expiration of the lease.
The Tenancy at Sufferance is a short-lived entity because
it lasts only until Landlord either evicts T or decides to hold T to a new tenancy. Thus, it is a placeholder for a different action or lease.
The Tenants Duties are:
1) Liability to third parties; 2) Duty to repair; 3) Duty to pay rent.
A “Fixture” is a once-movable chattel that, by virtue of its annexation to realty:
OBJECTIVELY shows the intent to permanently improve the realty.
A tenant may remove a chattel they installed so long as
removal does not cause substantial harm to the premises.
