Condensed L_T Outline.docx

Leases: conveyance & contracts = transfers of a possessory interest in land, a conveyance that creates property rights/contracts that make promises to tenants. LEASES DEFINITION TERMINATION CASES Termination of Years A lease for fixed calendar dates. A lease from 4/1/23 - 4/1/24 No notice is req...

Leases: conveyance & contracts = transfers of a possessory interest in land, a conveyance that creates property rights/contracts that make promises to tenants. LEASES DEFINITION TERMINATION CASES Termination of Years A lease for fixed calendar dates. A lease from 4/1/23 - 4/1/24 No notice is required to terminate, but it can be terminable earlier upon an event/condition. The death of L or T does not affect a term of years. Delivery of Possession (American Rule) Hannan: An implied covenant to deliver actual possession of a premises does not exist in real estate leases. T should sue holdover tenant, not L. Conditt (Sublease): A person who assigns a leasehold interest (sublease) is responsible to the lessor (L) under the terms of the lease. Ernest (Privities): A commercial lessor can’t withhold consent to an assignment without a commercially reasonable justification (competition to the LL or PP concern). See Pay n Pak; Yeshiva Wiley (T breaks lease terms): When a lessor feels T violated the lease terms, the lessor (LL) must access judicial remedies to retake property. [restaurant, can’t forcibly evict T) Kridel (T abandoned possession): A LL has a duty to mitigate damages when seeking to recover rent due from a default tenant. (law student) Periodic Tenancy T has a lease on a property month to month/year/week & lives at a property for successive periods until they decide to move out. to A from month to month or to B from year to year. FORMAL AGREEMENT if 1+ SOF Common Law Year to year = half a year’s notice is required to terminate. Less than a year = L or T must give notice equal to the lease but not to exceed six months. A unilateral lease termination power can be added to a periodic tenancy. The death of L or T does not affect a periodic tenancy Tenancy at Will The tenant lives at a property without a formal agreement (flexible) L/T can terminate the agreement at any time A unilateral power to terminate a lease can be added to a term of years tenancy. The death of L or T does affect a tenancy at will. Tenancy at Sufferance Arises when a tenant remains in possession (holds over) after the termination of the tenancy. When a tenant is NOT staying w/o permission but has stayed over the anticipated lease end. Common law gives LL with a holdover two options: eviction (plus damages) or consent (express or implied) to create a new tenancy. LL’s Duties, Rights & Remedies Cov Quiet Enjoyment = Implied in every lease, T shall have a quiet/peaceful possession of premises & a LL must NOT interrupt T’s enjoyment. - Breach = constructive or actual eviction Cohen: “FIT” factor when T’s can’t co-exist [allergic to dogs] Implied Warrant Hab = An unstated guarantee that a rental property complies with basic living and safety standards. A breach does not require eviction. T can seek contract rescission partial/full damages, various injunctions, and specific performance. (Hilder: VT apartment needs to be safe/sanitary) Actual Eviction = Legal process of physically removing T from property. Constructive Eviction = T needs to leave property b/c the environment is bad for their welfare. CE Factors: 1) leased premises conditions breached the Cov of QE; 2) substantial to justify T leaving (reasonable person); 3) leave in a reasonable time and relieved of rent obligations Village Commons: Wrongful eviction eliminates T’s lease obligation under even if the lease has an exclusive remedy provision preventing the tenant's lease termination. [prosecutor’s office] LL/T Analysis: 1) What does your lease contain? 2) What was the party's intent (construction issues); 3) common law (maj/min) and/or statute applicability; 4) remedies. If the lease is silent, apply the American rule, but particulars outlined in a lease will overrule the American rule. What happens when a tenant signs a lease that gives the tenant [but not the landlord] the right to terminate the lease on a date of their choosing? Garner v. Gerrish: A lease that grants the renter the right to terminate the tenancy does not grant the same right to the lessor unless expressly stated in the document. | The lease said Gerrish (T) had the “privilege of termination agreement at a date of his own choice.” Myers v. East Ohio Gas: Ambiguous leases—“leases which do not clearly state whether they are terminable at the will of one or both parties”—are subject to a rebuttable presumption that they are at the will of both. Philpot v. Field: L “leases to T for a term of 20 years and so long after that as T used premises for certain purposes.” 20 years pass. T is still alive. T is still used for certain purposes. No tenancy at will. Accord Roberts, p. 474. Roberts v. Unimin Corporation: Concerned a mining lease, signed in 1961 and continuing "as long thereafter as" mining or transportation occurred. In 2015, landowners sought to terminate the lease, arguing it created a tenancy at will. The court rejected this, stating Arkansas law recognized a determinable leasehold interest despite uncertainty over termination. The Fair Housing Act & Unlawful Discrimination The 1866 law reached only racial discrimination, and it did not deal with discrimination in providing services and facilities. It did not prohibit discriminatory advertising, BUT it was broader because it was not limited to dwellings and contained none of the exemptions found in the Fair Housing Act. Fair Housing Act A plaintiff need not demonstrate that the defendant had a discriminatory motive to make out a prima facie case under the Fair Housing Act; proof of disparate treatment or impact is sufficient. Citizen suit provision for injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. § 3604: Discrimination in the Sale of Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices. It is unlawful to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin (plus special provisions for handicaps) in the sale or rental of a dwelling (including advertising, financing, and brokerage services). §3604: Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices Prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or handicap. It covers various forms of discrimination, including refusing to sell or rent a dwelling, discriminating in the terms or conditions of sale or rental, and making discriminatory statements in advertisements. Additionally, it addresses discrimination against individuals with handicaps, including the obligation to permit reasonable modifications to premises and to make reasonable accommodations in rules or practices to afford equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. It also mandates certain design and construction standards for multifamily dwellings to ensure accessibility for handicapped persons. FHA Cases Wetzel: A landlord may be liable for having notice of tenant-on-tenant harassment based on a protected status and failing to act to prevent the harassment…b/c there was a lot of shared space in the senior's homes, the LL was liable. Kings Park Manor: landlords typically do not, and cannot be presumed to, exercise the degree of control over tenants that would be necessary to impose liability under the FHA for tenant-on-tenant harassment |The typical powers of a landlord over a tenant—such as the power to evict—do not establish the substantial control necessary to state a deliberate indifference claim under the FHA.” Texas Department of Housing: Upheld the disparate-impact doctrine to enforce the Fair Housing Act. Under the Court’s decision, disparate-impact claims cannot be based solely on statistical disparities; a plaintiff has to show that a defendant’s policy caused that disparity. Civil Rights Act of 1866 Shelley v. Kraemer = The court held that state courts could not enforce racially restrictive land use agreements entered into by neighbors (eliminated at least some private discrimination). Snape: US Supremes say that states cannot enforce racially restrictive land use agreements (1948) Alfred H. Mayer Co. = decided the same year the original Fair Housing Act became law. Snape: Provision prohibits all racial discrimination, private and public, in the sale or rental of property. Subleases, Assignments, and Default by Tenant Assignments vs. Subleases Assignments and subleases are terms for situations in which a tenant in possession of property transfers their possession rights to that property to a third party. Sublease = Transferring all of a portion of the premises for less than the entire lease term. A transfer of all of a tenant’s space for a team that is one day less than the lease term qualities as a sublease. The sub-leaser does NOT have a direct relationship with the landlord. Assignment = Transfers the tenant’s entire obligations under a lease and deals directly with the landlord. Typically used when a party takes over the entire lease space for the entire remaining term and takes on the existing lease economics, e.g., when a business is sold, existing leases are assigned to the new buyer. Principles of consent, waiver, and breach in lease agreements = The law generally supports the transfer of rights; landlords can include explicit demands against assignment or subletting in leases. However, tenants cannot sublease or assign their leasehold interests without such prohibitions. Courts often view restrictions on assignment or sublease as restraints on alienation and tend to interpret ambiguous language in favor of tenants. Failure to obtain the landlord’s consent, where required, can lead to a breach of covenant, allowing landlords to seek damages or even initiate eviction proceedings. NOVATION = When a T signs a lease to over to another party, which assumes the responsibility for rent and the liability for any subsequent damages to the property (as in the original lease.) Privities Privity of Estate = A lawfully recognized relationship between L&T re: an interest in land. Runs with the land Privity of Contract = lawfully recognized relationship re: an interest in a contract, regardless of whether an L&T relationship exists. Does NOT run with the land. Tenants Who Default - What happens? Suppose a tenant in possession has defaulted—say by failing to pay rent or observe some other lease obligation—or is holding over after the termination of the lease and the landlord wishes to recover possession. Or suppose the tenant has abandoned the premises before the end of the tenancy, perhaps owing some back rent.