Landlord-Tenant Law: Grounds to Evict and Lawful Payment of Damages
Larry Landlord has recently renovated an apartment and has put it on the market to be rented for $800.00 a month. Larry Landlord has been in business for approximately five (5) years and has had both positive and negative experiences with tenants. Larry Landlord is hoping to find a good, long-term tenant for his apartment. Roger Renter saw Larry's sign for the apartment for rent and thought the location and the apartment would be perfect. Roger met Larry to look at the apartment and Roger fell in love with it. All of the interior fixtures had been replaced and the unit had a nice large closet. Roger noticed that although newly painted, the exterior of the apartment did show a little bit of wear. Because of the condition of the exterior of the building, Roger asked Larry about any roof leaks. Larry stated that he had never had a leak and was not aware of any leaks.
Roger and Larry entered into a valid contract for the rental of the apartment. (Note: The issue of whether or not a contract exists is NOT part of this question. For purposes of this question assume the contract is valid and there are no issues with the contract.)
Roger Renter was very happy in his new location; the apartment was quiet and the neighbors were friendly. Larry Landlord was also very happy because Roger Renter was a model tenant. Roger Renter paid on time and was quiet and respectful to other tenants.
The part of the country where Roger rented was rainy in the summertime. Roger rented and moved into the apartment in October. In June, a tremendous rainstorm occurred and Roger's roof began to leak. The leak was minor at first and Roger merely put a trash can under the leak and had no other issues that month. When handing over his monthly rent check, Roger told Larry about the small leak. Larry thanked Roger for letting him know about the leak and told Roger he would have it fixed.
The next month the rains came again and the leak grew larger in Roger's apartment. Roger was not home at the time of the rain and therefore the leak damaged some of Roger's furniture. Roger called Larry to let him know that there was a leak and asked when it might be fixed. Roger also stated that he thought Larry had fixed the roof. Larry curtly stated, “When it rains, sometimes it pours. When it pours, sometimes it leaks.” Roger did not like Larry's tone or response and called back to ask when the roof might be fixed. Larry stated, “When I get to it.” The following day, Roger sent Larry a note about the roof leak and asked Larry to please address the issue.
The week before the rent was due, another rainstorm occurred and the leak was even larger. This time the leak damaged Roger's clothing, furniture, and some precious items he had inherited from family members. Roger called Larry and asked Larry to fix roof immediately. Larry responded in a similar and condescending manner. Roger hung up the phone and threw his baseball bat against the wall, damaging the drywall and knocking out an electrical socket.
Since it was the rainy season, Roger knew it would rain again and therefore simply moved his items away from the leak and did nothing to help mitigate the damage from the leaking roof.
Larry came into the apartment to investigate the leak and found damage from not only the leak but also from the thrown baseball bat. Roger states that the baseball bat damage was a direct result of Larry's inability to fix the leak based on his anger from Larry's curt response.
Suppose you are a mediator. In five to seven (5-7) pages discuss the rights and responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant in which you:
Explore the legal rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord.
Decide whether or not the landlord and / or the tenant had a legal duty to mitigate damages.
Determine whether or not Larry has legal grounds to evict Roger. Explain why or why not.
Describe whether or not Roger has a legal obligation to pay for the damage he caused and determine whether or not Larry would be liable for any direct damage.
Support each response with facts presented in the scenario.
Use proper legal terminology throughout your responses.
Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as quality academic resources.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
Include a reference page. Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length
Landlord-Tenant Law
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Explore the legal rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord
There are legal rights that focus on building codes that mandate minimum standards for residential properties. All the rental properties have to comply with the construction codes whether the lease mentions the code or not to tenants. There is also an oblique guarantee of habitability requiring the landlord to reach the set principles by the system of the local building. Besides, building codes facilitate developing premises that are fit for human inhabitation. It is the mandate of the landlord to maintain the property to meet the specific legal standards. The lease itself tends to obligate the owner to retain the exterior of any building and common areas on the premises. The moment the lease does not do so, state law may imply obligation. In the case between Larry and Roger, it is seen that Larry finally comes to look at the leak thus showing some effort in trying to resolve the problem as complained by Roger. The follow up on the issue make Larry learn about the damage that Roger had done on the wall. Roger as a tenant has the duty of paying rent to Larry ion time (Landlord and Tenant. Liability of Landlord for Nuisance or Negligence of Tenant, 2013). However, Roger was safe because he had been paying rent on time since the first day he rented the house. Besides, the tenant has the duty of using the premises correctly. A resident is also accountable to the owner for any significant damages they produce to the premise. The proprietor on another side may accumulate repair cost using the security deposits.
House owner remain to have the first important duty of delivering possession by making the ideal space available to the residents to rent. In this case, between Larry and Roger, Larry as the landlord has done so by putting his possession on the market for valuation of eight hundred dollars a month. The idea of advertising the house was because he was searching for an ideal tenant. Another duty of the landlord is to provide the tenant with the right to have Quite an Enjoyment of the money they spend. The right means that every tenant has the right to inhabit the property peace after paying the rent charges. The major duty that seems to be in question with this case is the landlord’s responsibility to maintaining premises (Malcom, 2014). In the case presented in this scene, the landlord has the mandate to deliver the facilities in the habitable condition as well as the continuing duty of maintaining the habitable condition to his tenant.
Decision whether the landlord and the tenant had the legal responsibility to alleviate damages
Before reaching an agreement in the contract between the renter Roger and landlord, Larry, Roger asked the owner if the roof of the apartment had any leaks. However, the landlord was able to confirm that indeed, there was no leak and he was not alert of cases of leakages. Roger signed the agreement form relying on information received from the landlord that indeed the roof was in good condition and had no leakages. However, in the month of June when the rainstorm occurred, the roof began to leak, Roger was able to put the can under the leak, as he was keen to inform Larry that the roof was leaking with the promise to fix the condition. Therefore, these events mean that although the landlord told Roger that the roof was not leaking before the signing of the contract, it could be the rainstorm caused the leak as it is described to have been huge. At the point of receiving the first report concerning the leaking roof, the landlord had the legal obligation to repair the roof of the apartment. The landlord could have agreed with the renter on the most appropriate time for him to be allowed to get access to the property with the aim of repairing the leak. However, the roof leaked again on the subsequent rainstorm, but because Roger was away from home,...