Posted: September 9th, 2022

Landlord and Tenant Law

Landlord and Tenant Law

The laws concerning rental property are formulated to protect and cover legal issues about a landlord-tenant relationship. For the code on the tenancy to be applicable, complete compliance of local, state, and federal regulation is essential; hence both parties will have their rights protected. The ultimate aim of a tenant is to enjoy a peaceful stay and or caring out business intended. The law foists specific obligations upon the Landlord and also provides corresponding rights to the tenant; hence this protects the tenancy relationship.
Aspects of Landlord and Tenant Law.
The law on the landlord-tenant relationship is divided into two aspects- State and Federal tenancy laws. The State laws on tenant and Landlord rights involve practical elements such as rights and obligations of parties to a contract of lease. Further, the State law provides for grounds of termination of a landlord-tenant contract, termination of leases, and procedural aspects thereof. The element of eviction is also stated, and the State laws provide grounds for eviction, terms, and how the process should be governed. The State law on the landlord-tenant relationship highlights the use of trust accounts for rental income. This is mandatory since it prevents all forms of discrimination and overcharging when it comes to security deposits.
The Federal laws, on the other hand, control the operations of property managers and owners by providing three key law aspects-, The Fair Housing Act and The Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides guidelines on how a property manager and Landlord shall monitor a tenant’s credit history for the purpose of admission. The Landlord must make a formal application for running the procedure and must collect clear reports free from any form of vagueness; hence this provides information on reporting urgency used. The Fair Housing Act protects parties from any kind of discrimination as a result of race, religion, or gender. Further, the act provides guidelines for property marketing and advertising to ensure fair competition among property managers.
Real-World Cases/Examples
In light of the cases and examples of landlord-tenants laws, the discussion shall be based on Possession, noninterference, and habitable conditions. A tenant has the right to enjoy Possession of his or her property once payment has been made and compliance by both parties attained. A breach of contract will arise when a third party has paramount title to the property in question, and the title is a duplicate of the original.Any legal interest in ownership by a third party and the interest is express by way of title, this amounts to a breach of contract. An example is when a tenant takes Possession and after that discovers a paramount title by a third party, this does not amount to a breach by the Landlord(Hatch,2017). A breach will occur when the Landlord, without due care forcefully and negligently evicts the tenant upon discovering the paramount title by a third party.
Under warranty of habitability, the common law doctrine of Caveat Emptor will be applicable herein. However in modern law of tenancy the doctrine does not commonly apply unless parties agree otherwise prior to signing the agreement. At common law of much essence is the fact that the Landlord will not be held liable when the premises become unsuitable for the tenant once he/she has moved in. However there is an exception provided by the State laws , that when an act of God has affected the conditions of a premise, then the tenant should not pay rent. The Federal and State laws unanimous advocate that the Landlord must condition the premises in respect to health,safety and housing codes of the given state after the tenant has moved in
In regards to noninterference both parties reserve the right to exercise power within their territories without causing nuisance. For instance if person ‘A’ moves into an apartment and other tenants constantly play loud music causing ‘A’ to have occasional headaches and he complains of the same to the Landlord. As a result of the complaint, Landlord fails to take action against the noisy tenants, the Landlord will be in breach of the contract however, the other tenants will not be held liable. This right arises from the Landlord’s implied agreement with a tenant, allowing the tenant to be free of interference.
The tenant also has remedies in regard to the above mentioned aspects of the law of tenancy. If the Landlord is in violation of rights and obligations, the tenant may seek termination of the contract with costs (Moreno,2018).The tenant may also seek for rent readjustments in cases of failure and negligence of the Landlord to maintain health and housing standards. In the case of Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Co. V Kaminsky (1999) Illinois, the bench Judge stated when the Landlord deprives the tenant the right of Possession without reasonable cause, this is termed as constructive eviction and there are remedies to such.
Conclusion
The above discussion highlights the contractual obligation between the parties of a tenancy agreement. The landlord-tenant relationship is governed by the State and Federal laws, which strongly recommend fairness and utmost fidelity to the terms of the contact. Further, the two Laws recommend that in case of a breach, the tenant is entitled to remedies under federal law. The law also recommends on the aspect of the maximum tenancy to protect both parties from conflicts arising from eviction.

References
Hatch, M. E. (2017). Statutory protection for renters: Classification of state landlord-tenant policy approaches. Housing Policy Debate, 27(1), 98-119.
Moreno, A. (2018). The Problems of Expanding Landlord-Tenant Law in Minnesota through Use of Legal Fiction. Mitchell Hamline LJ Pub. Pol’y & Prac., 39, 55.

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