Tenant's Duties

Question 1

Two Primary Tenant Duties

Answer 1

1. To repair
2. To pay rent

Question 2

Duty to repair when lease is silent

Answer 2

A tenant need only to maintain the premises (make ordinary wear & tear repairs)
-Cannot commit waste on the leased premises (voluntary, permissive, or ameliorative waste)
-Modern exception: can commit reasonable ameliorative waste on a long-term lease to reflect changes in the neighborhood

Question 3

Duty to repair when express covenant in the lease

Answer 3

Common law: T was responsible for any loss including force of nature

Modern rule: T may end lease when premises are destroyed without T’s fault

Question 4

Tenant’s duty to pay rent

Answer 4

If T breaches and remains on premises, L can:
-Evict (entitled to rent during process); or
-Continue the relationship and sue for rent

*L cannot engage in self-help: changing locks, or removing the tenant or her possessions from the premises

If T breaches and vacates the premises, L can:
-Surrender (end the lease)
-Ignore the abandonment and hold T financially responsible for the remainder of the lease
-Re-let the premises and hold the wrongdoer-tenet liable for any deficiency

*Majority rule: L must make a good faith effort to re-let (mitigation principle)

Question 5

Security deposits

Answer 5

Most states:
-Restrict to one month’s rent
-Require landlords to pay interest on security deposits; and
-Allow punitive damages for L’s improper refusal to return a security deposit