PART IV: LANDLORD AND TENANT
Chapter 15
INTRODUCTION TO LANDLORD-TENANT LAW
§ 15.01 Landlord-Tenant Law in Context [202]
In recent decades, American landlord-tenant law has undergone a major transformation. While traditional law was mainly oriented toward protecting landlords, modern law increasingly seeks to protect residential tenants.
§ 15.02 What Is a Leasehold Estate? [202-203]
A leasehold estate (also called a nonfreehold estate) is a legal interest that entitles the tenant to immediate possession of designated land, for either a fixed period of time (e.g., five years) or for so long as the tenant (or lessee) and the landlord (or lessor)desire.
§ 15.03 Leasehold Estate Distinguished from Nonpossessory Interests [203]
The key distinction between a leasehold estate, on the one hand, and interests such as a license or easement, on the other, is that the holder of a leasehold estate has the right of exclusive possession. One holding a license or easement merely has a right to use the land.
§ 15.04 Historical Evolution of Landlord-Tenant Law [204-205]
Early English landlord-tenant law developed when the lease was a commercial transaction—the lease of agricultural land. The lease was viewed as the conveyance of an estate to the tenant. Accordingly, the landlord had virtually no duty to the tenant during the lease period, except to refrain from interfering with the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the land.
§ 15.05 Categories of Leasehold Estates [206-213]
[A] Term of Years Tenancy
The term of years tenancy endures for a designated period that is either fixed in advance (e.g., five years) or computed using a formula that is agreed upon in advance. This tenancy automatically expires when the agreed period ends, without any notice of termination.
[B] Periodic Tenancy
The periodic tenancy lasts for an initial fixed period (e.g., one month) and then automatically continues for additional equal periods until either the landlord or the tenant terminates the tenancy by giving advance notice. The classic example is the “month-to-month” residential lease.
[C] Tenancy at Will
The tenancy at will has no fixed duration and endures only so long as both the landlord and the tenant desire. Today most tenancies at will arise from implication, not from an express agreement.
[D] Tenancy at Sufferance
The tenancy at sufferance arises when a person in rightful possession of land wrongfully continues in possession after the right to po
rms result from private negotiation between the parties. Some jurisdictions, however, have enacted rent control ordinances that limit the amount of rent a landlord may charge and otherwise regulate the landlord-tenant relationship.
§ 16.04 Landlord’s Duty to Deliver Possession [230-232]
There are two views on the landlord’s duty to deliver possession. The majority or “English” view requires the landlord to deliver actual possession of the leased premises to the tenant when the lease term begins, in addition to the legal right to possession. The minority or “American” view is that the landlord need only deliver the legal right to possession, and thus has no duty to oust a holdover tenant.
§ 16.05 Tenant’s Duty to Occupy [232-233]
The prevailing view is that the tenant has no duty to take possession unless an express lease covenant so requires. However, an implied covenant to occupy and operate a business will be found in a commercial lease where all or most of the rent is computed as a percentage of the tenant’s sales.
