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RENTERS AND LANDLORDS
GENERAL COMMENTS
Because most college students rent their living accommodations, this chapter is particularly relevant
in their daily lives. Many students have been involved in misunderstandings with landlords about alleged
violations of rules, security deposits, claims of damages, and requests to sublet, often leaving unpleasant
memories. If you are an attorney you are used to students asking for help with their personal legal
Note that special attention has been given to landlord liability for criminal acts of third parties, a
serious and growing problem in some communities.
We also elaborate on the distinction between renting and buying a home relative to the disclosures
that may affect one’s safety. This is one significant area where the law favors home buyers and virtually
ignores renters.
CHAPTER SUGGESTIONS
1. Ask your students for examples of problems your students have encountered as renters, as well as
suggestions of how such problems might have been avoided. Reference to Exhibits 11-2 and 11-3
should prove helpful in suggesting preventive recommendations.
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2. Have students bring in apartment lease agreements. Examine the leases for unusual provisions,
unenforceable clauses, or fairness. Special attention should be focused upon the provisions
pertaining to subletting and refund of deposits. Examine the agreement used for on-campus housing,
asking the same questions. Does your University publish an approved housing list, and by means of
this document, does it influence or mandate certain lease terms?
4. Students may be asked to identify the specific kinds of risks that landlords should be required to
disclose to prospective tenants. There are numerous examples in the text — others may come to
mind. Are there any “con” arguments in support of non-disclosure by landlords?
5. Our discussion about assignments and subleases does not focus on the importance of the legal
6. Check the local news for the topical issues in landlord tenant law. Is there a shortage of apartments?
7. Periodically when housing prices become attractive there is a run on apartment condominium
conversions. Has that happened it your area? What issues have arisen related to these conversions,
if any?
FOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Marina Point, Ltd. v. Wolfson
Question: In the foregoing case, there was no issue concerning due process or equal protection under the
U.S. Constitution because there is no “state action” in the apartment rental business. The rule of the
Marina Point case has been extended to apply to nonprofit homeowners’ associations that attempt to
restrict condominium occupancy to adults. On the one hand, exclusion of children as a class is not
permitted. On the other hand, however, housing accommodations exclusively for the elderly are
permitted. What is the difference?
1. Clearly, the propensity of children to disturb other tenants is an arbitrary classification and therefore
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New Haverford Partnership v. Stroot
1. The court’s discussion of “safe and sanitary conditions” seems to fall within a general discussion of
a warranty of habitability. However, the claim was made as a tort claim. One might suspect the
plaintiff’s contention was made in that fashion to support a higher claim for damages. The recovery
was based on general discussion of negligence and the landlord’s duty to provide an apartment that
is safe and sanitary. The fact that landlord in this case was given information about the need to
repair and failed to act on it sufficiently is important.
2. It is very hard to tell from the case so student speculation is fair. This quote in the unedited version
3. Most states have some type of repair and deduct statute which allows a tenant to make repairs when
4. It may well have been difficult to find other accommodations and most tenants (and people for that
matter) do not like to move. What are yours student’s thoughts?
5. Check your local ordinances, state statutes and news coverage.
6. It will depend on your state and local laws. Limitations on landlord discretion in most states seem
to be following (not leading) limitations on employer discretion.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
1. No cause for breaking the lease is mentioned in the problem, so the tenants remain liable on the
remaining term of the lease. Tenants can often negotiate for a provision that allows them to “break”
their lease if specified, important events occur. Landlords are not likely to voluntarily include such
“escape clauses” unless requested. Without such a clause, the landlord is entitled to continued rent
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2. In most states, the described conditions would violate the implied warranty of habitability. In the
Edelbrock case, the Supreme Court of Missouri abandoned the common-law rule of caveat emptor,
“let the buyer beware,” under which the tenants would have had no cause of action. Instead, the
court replaced the common-law rule with the modern rationale of the implied warranty of
habitability, including: (a) recognition of the contractual nature of a modern lease agreement; (b)
3. The wrongful removal and discard of a tenant’s personal belongings violates a number of duties
under tort law. It really isn’t important whether the wrongs involved are torts of wrongful eviction,
outrageous conduct, or conversion, or violations of specific terms and provisions of the lease. Such
conduct amounts to constructive eviction, and the tenant is entitled to a judgment for appropriate
damages. In most states, the landlord or apartment manager would also be guilty of a crime for theft
and unlawful entry into a dwelling. The fact that the tenant was behind in rent would not excuse this
intrusive conduct.
In the second situation, when no personal property is taken by the landlord or apartment
manager, there could be no conversion or theft. However such conduct is reprehensible and would
constitute the tort of invasion of privacy, or outrageous conduct, or both. If the unlawful entry and
search were conducted by the apartment manager, the question would arise as to the application of
the doctrine of respondeat superior. Should the landlord or owner be liable for such conduct that,
on its face, is outside the scope of the manager’s employment? This issue probably would turn on
4. This question is intended to personalize the relevance and importance of the chapter to the student.
Students may discover first-hand that they ought to know more about their own important affairs.
Answers should be kept confidential.
5. The landlord was held liable because he knew, or should have known, of the dangerous condition
(the monkey) and did not warn other tenants, such as Angela, or evict the offending tenant.
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6. Pro:
Deposits are for security and remain the tenant’s money. Because they are, or could be deposited in
interest bearing accounts, the landlord should return the interest to the owner of the money — the
tenant.
Con:
The amount of interest is too small to justify the bookkeeping that would be involved. Furthermore,
most landlords do not deposit the money — they spend it and no interest is earned.
7. The landlord probably need not take any of the indicated actions. Some city ordinances require
8. Sometimes the uninformed believe they are safe in ignoring their obligations for the simple reason
that they have nothing to lose. However, a judgment creditor, such as a landlord, typically can keep
a judgment alive for ten years, often renewable for another ten years. Judgments are public records,
9. Handwritten notes, taken at or near the time of the tenant’s conversation with the landlord, will be
accepted by courts as evidence of what was said. The technical theory of evidence is simply that
where there are ambiguities in contracts, collateral evidence — that is otherwise not untrustworthy
— may be used for clarification. This is especially true for tenants against landlords.
10. The court held the exculpatory clause unenforceable. “It is obvious that when a right, a privilege, or
a defense is conferred upon an individual by the law, it is conferred upon him because it is believed