Landlord/Tenant (Leases) Flashcards
Landlord / Tenant have a written lease that ends on August 31. Security deposit is $3,000. Tenant does not give landlord any notice leaves the keys in the house. On September 27, landlord mails a letter to tenant stating security deposit is being keep for tenant not giving notice.
A. It is acceptable for the landlord to keep the security deposit.
B. Landlord owes the tenant $6,000.
C. Landlord cannot keep security deposit for failure to give notice since he did not meet the tenant for a move out inspection.
D. Tenant needed to send certified letter to landlord with the keys.
B. Landlord owes the tenant $6,000.
A landlord who keeps deposits without reason for more than 3 weeks after the tenant has moved:
• May be subject to twice the amount of the security deposit in statutory damages in addition to actual damages. [C.C. §1950.5(l)]
The landlord can use the security deposit for four purposes: (1) unpaid rent, (2) clean the unit, (3) repair damages, (4) replace personal property, such as furnishings or keys, other than because of normal wear and tear
The landlord has 21 calendar days after the tenant has moved out
• To return all unused portions of the security deposit, with a written itemized statement showing how the remainder was used.
• Must include the receipts with the itemized statement.
• May only deduct from the security deposit the cleaning cost “necessary to return the unit to the same level of cleanliness it was in at the beginning of the tenancy.”
Landlord / Tenant have a written lease for a house in Palm Springs that ends on August 31. On July 26, outside temperature is 115 degrees and the air conditioning fails. Tenant should take any of the following actions except:
A. Notify the Landlord immediately my phone and by email and request the repair.
B. Move out and not pay the August 1 rent.
C. Call the landlord, and if they cannot be reached schedule an air conditioning repair person and deduct cost from the rent.
D. Contact the landlord however landlord states they can’t get it fixed for 2 weeks. Tenant could withhold August 1 rent.
B. Move out and not pay the August 1 rent
• If there is a repair problem involving the tenant’s health, welfare, or safety, the landlord has a duty to make needed repairs under the implied warranty of habitability.
• The tenant should notify the landlord of the problem by a phone call, email, and a follow-up letter.
• After a reasonable time, if the landlord ignores the request or refuses to make the repair, the tenant remedies include:
1. repair and deduct
2. abandon the rental unit
3. withhold rent.
Landlord’s Responsibility
• The implied warranty of habitability requires landlords to maintain their rental units in a condition that substantially complies with and safety codes.
• At the beginning of a rental agreement, the owner must ensure the property is free of trash, garbage, rodents, and insects.
• Property must have adequate heating, plumbing, and electrical wiring (up to the current building code); waterproofing and weather protection; hot and cold
running water; garbage receptacles; and safe floors, stairs, and railings.
- Landlord is not responsible to repair damage caused by the tenant or the tenant’s pets or guests.
- The tenant must take reasonable care of the rental unit and keep the premises “as clean and sanitary as the condition of the premises permits.”
Repair and Deduct Remedy.
• The repair and deduct remedy is used to correct substandard conditions that affect the tenant’s health and safety, such as a faulty water heater or broken
thermostat.
• Under this remedy, the tenant may make the repairs and deduct the cost of the repairs (up to one-month’s rent) from the rent when it is due.
• The tenant may do this only two times in any 12- month period.
Abandonment Remedy.
• If the cost to repair the substandard conditions exceeds the amount of one month’s rent, the tenant may abandon the premises.
• Once the tenant abandons the property, he or she has no further responsibility to pay future rents.
Rent Withholding Remedy.
• This requires that the substandard defects or repairs that are needed must be more serious than would justify use of the repair and deduct and abandonment remedies.
• The defects must be serious enough to make the dwelling uninhabitable, such an exposed electrical wiring, collapsed ceilings, or a gas leak.
• In the rent withholding remedy, the tenant can continue to withhold the rent until the landlord makes repairs.
• The tenant should deposit the rent money into a separate account (escrow account).
• If the tenant ends up in court, this proves to the judge the willingness of the tenant to pay the rent.
In a net lease, which of the following would the tenant most likely pay?
A. Real estate taxes
B. Capital gains taxes
C. Transfer tax
D. Conveyance tax
A. Real estate taxes
• Net lease
– Tenant pays base rent, plus some or all of landlord’s taxes, utilities, mortgages, insurance and maintenance (for example: industrial or manufacturing)
• Manufacturer of widgets
• Gross lease
– Tenant pays set amount of rent each month (for example: apartment lease)
• Percentage lease
– Tenant pays a base rent plus a % of sales made (for example: flower shop)
– For exam purposes, think RETAIL!
• Land lease (aka, ground lease)
– All the tenant gets is land (for example: farm lease)
Which best describes what a landlord is to a tenant in a gross lease?
A. Lessee
B. Vendee
C. Vendor
D. Lessor
D. Lessor
- Remember, in a gross lease the tenant pays a set amount of rent each month. Gross leases are usually based on annual terms and there are no requirement to give notice of termination. Termination is automatic.
- A Landlord is the Lessor. Put the “ors” together – Landlord Lessor
- Tenant is the Lessee
According to California law, if a tenant is late in making a monthly rent payment, how much notice to vacate must the landlord provide?
A. 3 days
B. 5 days
C. 15 days
D. 30 days
A. 3 days
• 3 day notice for non payment of rent
Sarah and Kevin were recently married. They have signed an apartment lease for one year with hopes they can build a house someday. They plan to move out at the end of the lease. How much notice must they give to comply with the lease terms?
A. 30 days
B. 60 days
C. 90 days
D. No notice required
D. No notice required
- This would be an “Estate for years.” Which is any leasehold estate for a fixed time period. An estate for years terminates automatically at the end of specified rental period.
- Remember even though it is termed an “Estate for Years” it can be for two weeks, two months, or two years
- The language of a lease could be different and it is important to read and understand the lease when entering in to.
Rental agreements are valid contracts and must have the same components as a legally enforceable contract which includes all of these except:
- Consideration
- Competent parties
- Mutual consent
- Must be in writing
- Must be in writing
• Per the Statute of Frauds, Rental agreements between the property owner and the renter for one year or less can be verbal or in writing. Leases for longer than one year (1 year plus 1 day) must be in writing.
• As a valid contract, it must have the same components as a legally enforceable contract.
• legally competent parties, mutual consent between the
parties, a lawful objective, and sufficient consideration.
• It is also a conveyance of a leasehold interest in real estate, which gives the renter a tenancy.
• Chattel Real - Item of personal property connected to real estate
This type of rental agreement is a month-to-month rental agreement, and the tenancy is month-to-month with rent payments each month.
- Periodic Tenancy
- Estate at Will
- Estate for Years
- Standard lease agreement
- Periodic Tenancy
- Leasehold for a duration of time with no specific dates (month-to-month). Is an oral or written contract. States the length of time (days, weeks, months).
between the rent payments. This is the rental period.
• 10 days’ notice to terminate week-to-week tenancy
• 30 days’ notice to terminate month-to-month tenancy - Estate for years. Leasehold estate for fixed period with a specific dates.
- No notice required to terminate.
- Estate at will. Leasehold with no specified termination date or period.
- Either party can terminate at any time.
• Estate at sufferance. Lease held by holdover tenant that runs until the landlord takes action.
Landlord and Tenant have no rental agreement. Tenant has rented the house for 2 years. On May 1 tenant delivers rent check landlord. On May 15, landlord give tenant 30 days notice. Tenant must vacate by:
A. May 31
B. June 30
C. Tenant has an implied contact for another year.
D. June 15
B. June 30
- California law presumes that renting real property, unless the parties have agreed otherwise, is for a period of 30 days.
- Periodic tenancy automatically renews at the end of each period unless one party gives notice of termination to the other.
- The landlord can change the terms of the periodic rental agreement with proper written notice.
- The rental period (days, weeks, or months) determines how often the rent is paid
- Such as every 30 days with a month-to-month agreement.
- The rental period also determines the amount of advance notice landlords and tenants must give each other.
Which of the following is not an example of a tenancy for years.
A. Single Family with a written lease starting on March 1, 2020 ending on February 28th, 2021
B. Apartment leased with a written lease of 6 months.
C. Commercial office building with a written lease for 3 years.
D. 1-year written lease for a duplex unit that ended but landlord and tenant have agreed to extend on a month to month basis.
D. 1-year written lease for a duplex unit that ended but
landlord and tenant have agreed to extend on a month to month basis.
• Is a rental agreement with a predetermined length of time between an owner (lessor) and a renter (lessee) which gives the lessee a tenancy.
• The tenancy, known as a tenancy for years (or tenancy for a fixed term), is often for six months or a year but sometimes longer.
- Month to month is not a “fixed” time.
In a standard sub-lease, who is personally liable if sub-lessee fails to pay the rent?
- Lessor
- Lessee
- Sub-Lessee
- The new tenant
- Lessee - The person who signed the original lease agreement with the landlord/lessor. Without Novation (substitution of a new contract for the original contract. Both parties must give their consent), the original lessee remains responsible.
Assignee would be responsible with Novation - Assignee Replaces Lessee as tenant paying Lessor Directly.
Security deposits may be kept or used by the landlord for all of these items except:
- Unpaid rent
- Normal wear and tear
- Clean the unit
- Repair damages
- Normal wear and tear
The landlord can use the security deposit for four purposes:
(1) unpaid rent
(2) clean the unit,
(3) repair damages
(4) replace personal property, such as furnishings or keys, other than because of normal wear and tear
• Security deposit also includes any charges imposed at the beginning of the tenancy to reimburse the landlord for costs associated with processing a new tenant, other than application screening fees.
- Security deposit is a refundable deposit that the landlord requires the tenant to pay at the beginning of the tenancy.
- The maximum deposit allowed
- Unfurnished property two months rent.
- Furnished property three months rent.
Tenants can be evicted lawfully for all of these except:
- failing to pay rent
- violating an important condition of the rental agreement after asking tenant to conform
- being a substantial nuisance
- having a pet over when its not part of the agreement
- having a pet over when its not part of the agreement
When pets are authorized, pets are allowed. If pets are not authorized but are living in the unit, the landlord must ask the tenant to conform first and provide 3 days to conform before starting the eviction process.
• To terminate the rental agreement, the landlord must serve the tenant an eviction notice (3-day notice) for cause asking the tenant to conform.
- Landlord has one legal remedy to remove a tenant — the eviction process using an unlawful detainer action or action in ejectment.
- Landlord must use this court process to evict the tenant
- cannot give in to frustration about the delinquent or remiss tenant by committing unlawful acts, such as changing the locks or bullying the tenant with threats of bodily harm.
Constructive eviction
• Is an implied eviction in which the landlord’s act or omission justifies the immediate departure of the tenant.
• Example landlord fails to make needed repairs to property after repeated requests by the tenant, the tenant is considered constructively evicted and the tenant may terminate the lease.
A lawsuit to remove an unlawful holdover tenant is:
- Writ of possession
- Unlawful detainer action
- 30 day notice to leave the property
- None of the above
- Unlawful detainer action
Unlawful Detainer Action
• Lawsuit to remove an unlawful holdover tenant (e.g. after the expiration of a 3-day or 30-day notice) and return the rental unit to its owner.
• The landlord may file an unlawful detainer action in the municipal court if a tenant ignores or fails to respond to the notification to pay or quit.
• This document lists the charges against the tenant, who then has 5 calendar days to respond after being served; otherwise, a default hearing is set.
Writ of Possession
• Is granted by the court to the landlord if the tenant does not move out or answer the lawsuit.
• A writ of possession is the legal document issued by the court commanding the tenant to leave the premises within five days.
• The 5 days begin to run once the sheriff, marshal, or registered process server posts the writ of possession on the property.
• Upon expiration of the 5 days, the sheriff physically removes the tenant and gives the landlord possession.
Writ of Possession – Personal Property
• Landlord may remove personal property of the tenant and change the locks.
• The landlord must store any belongings left behind by the tenant after the eviction for 30 days.
• Can charge the tenant a reasonable storage fee.
• After that time, a public sale may be held and the proceeds used by the owner to pay costs of storage and sale.
• Any balance remaining after payment of these costs must be returned to the tenant.
The rental agreement or a separate document contains the rules and regulations prohibiting disruptive behavior, such as:
- Excessive Noise
- Illegal Activity
- Participating in gang activity
- All of the above
- All of the above
The rental agreement or a separate document contains the rules and regulations prohibiting disruptive behavior, such as
• excessive noise
• illegal activity
• drug dealing
• participating in gang activities on or about the premises.
