Week 3 - LL/T

Question 1

Tenant’s rights: condition of premises fails to meet min. standards
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Answer 1

1. Quiet Enjoyment and Constructive Eviction
2. The Illegal Lease
3. The implied warranty of habitability
4. Retaliatory Eviction
5. Landlord’s Tort Liability

Question 2

Tenant’s rights: condition of premises fails to meet min. standards
1. ?
2.
3.
4.
5.

Answer 2

1. Quiet Enjoyment and Constructive Eviction

Question 3

Tenant’s rights: condition of premises fails to meet min. standards
1.
2. ?
3.
4.
5.

Answer 3

2. The Illegal Lease

Question 4

Tenant’s rights: condition of premises fails to meet min. standards
1.
2.
3. ?
4.
5.

Answer 4

3. The implied warranty of habitability

Question 5

Tenant’s rights: condition of premises fails to meet min. standards
1.
2.
3.
4. ?
5.

Answer 5

4. Retaliatory Eviction

Question 6

Tenant’s rights: condition of premises fails to meet min. standards
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. ?

Answer 6

5. Landlord’s Tort Liability

Tenant’s duties: landlord’s rights and remedies

Question 7

TEST: Figure out when a tenant can claim one of the things listed on the slide and what they would have to prove to win and which is the best one for the tenant to use in which situations.

Answer 7

!!!!!!!

Question 8

_______ _____ was limited to cases in which the T was actually ousted physically (early common law imposed no duty on L to provide suitable premises).

• No mutuality of obligations (unlike contract law).
• Lessee beware

Answer 8

common law

Question 9

Common law was limited to cases in which the T was actually ______ ________(early common law imposed no duty on L to provide _______ _______.

Answer 9

ousted physically

suitable premises

Question 10

LL was not responsible for providing suitable premises to the tenant at _____ _____.

Answer 10

common law

Question 11

We are thinking well the LL has a duty to provide me a heated apartment, with electricity, doors that lock, free of mice, basic things that we think of and in turn I will pay rent but there didn’t use to be mutuality of obligations and we were dealing with lessee beware or caveat lessee.

What does this refer to?

Answer 11

No mutuality of obligations.

Question 12

Covenant of quiet enjoyment was an _________.

Answer 12

exception

Question 13

This exception to the general rule of ‘no mutuality of obligations’ was the vehicle for developing the law that moved the pendulum of rights in favor of the __________.

Answer 13

tenant

Question 14

The obligation to pay rent was dependent upon the ___________ being provided with possession physically undisturbed by the landlord (or L’s agent).

Answer 14

tenant

Question 15

In order to claim a breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, Tenant must be physically evicted from the premises by the Landlord.
A. True
B. False

Answer 15

In the modern era it is false.

Question 16

Historically the LL had to _________ remove you.

Answer 16

physically

Question 17

______________ _________ is linked to the covenant of quiet enjoyment and T doesn’t have to be physically evicted from the premises by the LL.

Answer 17

constructive eviction

Question 18

If the actions or inactions attributable to the landlord result in a breach of the lease causing the condition of the premises to be substantially unsuitable for purposes of the lease, or to be a serious interference with the beneficial enjoyment of the premises.

Answer 18

Constructive Eviction

Question 19

Constructive Eviction: if the actions or inactions attributable to the landlord result in a ______ of the _______ causing the condition of the premises to be _______ _________ for purposes of the lease, or to be a serious interference with the beneficial enjoyment of the premises.

Answer 19

breach of the lease

substantially unsuitable

Question 20

If the actions or inactions attributable to the landlord result in a breach of the lease causing the condition of the premises to be substantially unsuitable for purposes of the lease, or to be a serious interference with the beneficial enjoyment of the premises.

While this may not be “actual” eviction, the courts held that it could be a “_________” eviction (if other requirements are met).

Answer 20

constructive

Question 21

Once constructively evicted you are not responsible for any more ________.

Answer 21

rent

Question 22

________ _______ doesn’t mean the LL physically removes you from the property. It means that things got so bad while you were renting there that you physically removed yourself because the LL breached _____ ________. Once you have been constructively evicted, you are not responsible for paying rent anymore.

Answer 22

constructive eviction

quiet enjoyment

Question 23

Let’s talk about the necessary lead-up. Can you just wake up one day and say my LL is such a jerk, I declare myself constructively evicted?

Answer 23

NO there is process.

Question 24

Constructive Eviction: Additional Requirements:
1. ?
2.

Answer 24

1. Provide the landlord with notice of the breach, and afford the landlord a reasonable opportunity to cure; and then,

Question 25

Constructive Eviction: Additional Requirements:
1.
2. ?

Answer 25

2. The tenant cannot be “evicted” unless he or she leaves, therefore, the tenant must vacate within a reasonable time after the right comes into existence.

Question 26

Constructive Eviction: Additional Requirements:
1.
2.

Answer 26

1. Provide the landlord with notice of the breach, and afford the landlord a reasonable opportunity to cure; and then,
2. The tenant cannot be “evicted” unless he or she leaves, therefore, the tenant must vacate within a reasonable time after the right comes into existence.

Question 27

If you are saying LL there are rats in my apartment this is unacceptable – you have to notify the LL and you have to give them a chance to call the exterminator and for the exterminator to come. You can’t just say I am moving out. You have to give them a chance to fix it. You have to actually leave within a reasonable time. !!!

Answer 27

!!!

Question 28

What does “caveat lessee” mean?

Answer 28

Renter beware.

Question 29

Where there is a covenant of quiet enjoyment, either express or implied, and it is breached substantially by the LL, Courts have applied _______ ________as the remedy for the T.

Answer 29

constructive eviction

Question 30

Where there is a covenant of quiet enjoyment, either express or implied, and it is breached substantially by the LL, Courts have applied constructive eviction as the remedy for the T.

Thus, any act or omission which renders the premises ________ ________ for the purpose for which they are leased, or substantially interferes with the beneficial enjoyment of the premises, is a breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. T here was ________ _______and is not liable for the rent claimed.

Answer 30

substantially unsuitable

constructively evicted

Question 31

Remedy of constructive eviction relieves T of the harsh burden of ______ _______.

Answer 31

caveat lessee

Question 32

Constructive Eviction
What if the landlord’s breach of the lease (e.g., failure to carry out L’s duty to repair, as specified in the lease) does not result in conditions that rise to the level of “constructive eviction?”

Does the tenant have any remedy?

Answer 32

Example: newly divorced mom of a toddler. The big house on the multiple acres is harder to afford on one income. Moved into a townhouse. Townhouse had bedrooms upstairs. Spent most of time downstairs. 2 bathrooms upstairs and one downstairs. Potty training and I had to carry the kid to the upstairs bathroom.
Could I get mad and move out because it took them a week to fix the toilet – no even though long week.

No opportunity for me to move out and claim I was constructively evicted.

Most places the answer is no. the restatement says that there should be a right to apportionment. If that bathroom that I can’t use is 10% of the square footage, maybe I should pay 10% less rent but most jurisdictions do not agree.