Leasing Real Property: Landlord and Tenant Law (Property) Flashcards
What is a term of years?
A duration measured by a fixed period of time that can be fixed to specific calendar dates.
To A for X years | To A for a year | To A until Jan 1, 2026
The tenant must vacate and surrender possession to the landlord at conclusion of lease term.
What is a Periodic Tenancy?
Lasts for a fixed period of time and automatically renews for subsequent period of time until either party gives notice.
To A for month to month
This can arise from implication.
The default rule for termination is linked to the duration of the lease period (notice requirement cannot exceed six months).
What is a tenancy at will?
Either party can end the tenancy at any time. Its like lending something to someone and you want it back.
To A so long as we agree.
This often arises bc of implication. If no terms are specified and can’t deduce a periodic tenancy, then it will be a tenancy at will.
What classes are protected under the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1866?
race, color, religion, sex, family status, national origin, and handicap status.
What are the 3 exceptions to the Fair Housing Act and Civil Rights Act of 1866?
The Ms Murphy exception (renting apartment where they live (CRA still applies), small business exception, and religious organizations.
How does a P litigate discrimination and what is their burden? How does the D defend itself if the P accomplishes this?
Burden to make a prima facie case that the P is a member of a protected class and the P was denied housing or otherwise treated in a manner that falls within the scope of the FHA.
Landlord has to show that there was a non-discriminatory business justification for the landlord’s actions.
What is constructive eviction?
According to Fidelity, there is a 4 part test for constructive eviction.
1. Landlord intended that tenant no longer enjoy the premises, which could be inferred from the circumstances.
2. Landlord committed a material act or omission.
3. Landlord permanently deprived P of the use and enjoyment of the premise.
4. Tenant abandoned the premises (reasonable for temporal element).
What is the implied warranty of habitability? Damages?
Requires the landlord to provide livable conditions. This is a new convention as things used to be seen under the caveat emptor view.
- Measures of damages shall be the difference between the value of the dwelling as warranted and the value of the dwelling as it exists in its defective condition. Punitives might be available.
What is the covenant of quiet enjoyment?
Tenant can use property without interference of others.
What are the tenant’s duties?
Pay rent, don’t use the premises for illegal purposes, and to not commit waste.
How do courts look at a transfer of a lease?
Courts will generally look at the substance of the transfer rather than what the parties call it in order to determine whether there is an assignment or a sublease.
What is an assignment?
Transfer of all their rights to the new tenant.
What is a sublease?
Original tenant transfers something less than all of her rights to the new tenant.
What is privity? Horizontal vs vertical privity?
Parties are in privity of K if we’re on opposite sides of a K. Parties are in privity of estate if we’re on opposite sides of a real estate transaction.
What did we learn from Neal v. Craig Brown?
A sublease that reserves to the sublessor a reversionary interest and a right to re-enter the premises conveys to the sublessee only those rights held by the sublessor, not renewal rights held only by the original lessee.
What is abandonment?
If a tenant abandons the premises and moves out before the end of the lease, the tenant is implicitly attempting to surrender the lease. Landlord can accept or refuse the surrender. If accepted, they can still sue for damages.
What is a holdover?
a tenant who stays in possession after the lease expired. The landlord has two options: Landlord can treat them as a trespasser, or they can hold the tenant over on a new lease term (tenancy at sufferance) and we should think about this option as a remedy.
What is a self-help eviction?
were permitted at common law as long as they were peaceable. Today, most states prevent self-help evictions and require landlords use legal process evictions. The issue with the legal process eviction is the length of time it takes.
What did we learn from Sommer v. Kridel?
- A landlord has a duty to mitigate damages when seeking to recover rents due from a defaulting tenant.
- Duty to mitigate also includes making reasonable efforts to rent out the apartment.
What did we learn from Berg v. Wiley?
If a lessor feels that the tenant in possession is violating the terms of the lease, the lessor must exercise judicial remedies to retake the property. Basically, getting rid of self-help evictions.
What is the English rule vs the American rule for tenancy law? Which are we using?
We use the English rule.
English: The landlord does have a duty to deliver actual possession of the property.
American: Landlord only has a duty to deliver legal possession, not actual possession of the property.
