Today, the world has remarkably transformed when it comes to agreements and making of pacts. An agreement can be made by two or more parties in regards to a particular activity that they want to partake in unison. However, there has to be a guarantee that not one of the involved party will maliciously manipulate the other due to selfish or corrupt reasons. As a result, such agreements are made based on a contract which states each and every detail of the agreement. This new trend of making contracts transitioned to the rental housing business and has been one effective measure that has been taken to ensure effective coexistence in the landlord-tenant relationship.
Cases of controversial landlord-tenant relationships had become quite rampant before these laws were enacted. There were instances where landlords offered poor living conditions to the tenants and charged relatively high amounts of rent. In other cases, tenants engaged in the damage of property in the rental houses. This and other cases of a negative nature in the business resulted in the enactment of the landlord-tenant law which advocated for the signing of a contract between the two involved parties (“Landlord-tenant law,” 2016). The law requires the landlord and tenant to enter into a written agreement before the occupation of the premises that are out for rent (“Landlord-tenant law,” 2016). This agreement should clearly explain the roles and expectations of each of the involved parties. Both the landlord (leaser) and the tenant (lessee) then sign the agreement after they have come to a consensus on the matter. In this paper, a case between Larry- a landlord and Roger- a tenant, is analyzed to see what the scope of the issue was and where each of the parties failed to live up to their expectation as per the landlord-tenant law. To weigh clearly on the matter, a discussion of the rights and responsibilities of each is discussed below.
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Rights and responsibilities of the leaser
First and foremost, the landlord (leaser) has the duty to pass over ownership of the rental house to the tenant after they have reached an agreement (Eberlin, 2016). This means the landlord can no longer access the house without the consent of the tenant at any time whatsoever (Eberlin, 2016). The rented house becomes now property to the tenant, but the landlord remains to be the legally recognized owner (Eberlin, 2016). In light of the same, the landlord is charged with a responsibility of ensuring that the house is in good condition as per the law. It should be located in a nice place, with water in constant supply, and proper drainage.
Further, the landlord is also supposed to make repairs in the house even after a tenant has moved in (Eberlin, 2016). If something in the house breaks or becomes dysfunctional while a tenant is occupying the place, then it is the mandate of the tenant to get that fixed (Eberlin, 2016). Such happenings should be reported immediately by the tenant, and the landlord should respond as fast. Failure to the observance of this, the tenant is justified under the law to sue the landlord for poor house management (Eberlin, 2016).
The leaser also has the right to obtaining of a security deposit from the tenant (Eberlin, 2016). It is required under the law that every tenant who is entering into a rental house should pay a security deposit. The security deposit is an amount of money almost similar in value to the rent that is paid to the landlord upon agreeing on the terms of operation. This security deposit is so as to ensure that the landlord can compensate for any damages that a tenant causes in the house during their stay (Eberlin, 2016). However, the deposit is not always fully under the ownership of the landlord. They can only have it when the tenant fails to pay rent or when they cause some damages. In the event where a tenant is vacating the house, they have the right to their security deposit, and the landlord has an obligation of giving it back (Eberlin, 2016).
Once both the landlord and tenant have come to an agreement, it is the duty of the landlord to ensure that the premises are available for occupation on the stipulated date (Eberlin, 2016). The agreement that they both come to should always indicate the date when the tenant is supposed to move into the house. The landlord should thus embark on making sure that the house is available by then and it is in good condition for occupation (Eberlin, 2016). Additionally, the landlord can also take legal action in the case where they have legally ordered a constructive eviction of a certain tenant due to clearly stipulated and valid reasons.
Rights of the Lessee
It is the right of the lessee to seek and find a house that provides the kind of comfort that they desire (Johnson, 2015). They should ensure that any house that they rent is in good conditions and it satisfies their needs for a home. All the key requirements such as water and proper drainage should have been observed by the landlord (Johnson, 2015). Failure to this, the tenant has the right to take legal action against the landlord. They have a mandate to making sure that the landlord provides a habitat that is fit for survival (Johnson, 2015).
Again, it is expected of the tenant to make sure that they pay bills on time (Johnson, 2015). The kind of agreement that a tenant enters into with the landlord highlights of any bills that they are expected to cater for during their stay. These bills include electricity, water, gas, and any other pay subscriptions that might be part of the agreement. As such, a tenant is supposed to cover such bills on time. They should not delay without giving reasons to why they are doing so. The landlord, in this case, can take action against them.
Further, a tenant should pay their rent as per the agreed regulations (Johnson, 2015). In the agreement, the landlord gives a deadline for the payment of rent, and since the tenant agrees to it, they are supposed to ensure that they live up to it. It should be the full expected amount and paid according to the mode of pay that they agreed on. In case the tenant has a hard time with beating the deadlines, they have the right to asking for additional time from the landlord to pay their rent (Johnson, 2015). However, if the lessee does not pay the rent as per the agreed period, the landlord has the right to vacate them from the premise (Johnson, 2015). The tenant is also capable of a penalty in the case where they damage property in the house.
The Larry-Roger Issue
After having a clear understanding of what the landlord-tenant laws entail, it is now quite easy to access the impending issue between Larry and Roger. The issue can be addressed from an angle where each of the two is analysed individually to see how their conduct was and how they fulfilled and also went against the landlord tenant law. This will help on giving a verdict on the matter to determine who was wrong and who was right.
Larry, the landlord, was quite observant of the law when it comes to the provision of a rental house. It is noted that he had the house renovated for reoccupation. The purpose of the renovation was to ensure that the house was in good condition. Perhaps the previous occupant could have damaged some of the things in the house. Again, the location of the house was also fine and secure for Roger to have liked it. He also made sure that the house was available for occupation on the agreed on a date.
Roger, on the other hand, also lived up to what is expected of a tenant. Before occupying the house, he made sure that they discussed on the terms of the occupation with Larry. He also inspected the house to ensure that everything was in good condition. He noted the flaws that he saw and raised concern to the landlord. Importantly, it should be noted that he paid his rent on time and was respectful of the neighbours around him.
Nevertheless, both Larry and Roger violated the law in a way or the other. Larry, for instance, did not act upon the concern that was raised by Roger over the leaking roof. According to the law, he should have taken immediate action to remedy the situation. However, he assured Roger that the roof was fine knowing well that he had not renovated it. When the roof started leaking, and the case was reported to him, he delayed a lot. He did not go ahead to take immediate action. He kept promising to look into the matter and ended up doing nothing despite Roger’s concurrent demands. By the time he finally took action, a lot of damages to property owned by Rogers had already been incurred. Roger is rightfully allowed to take legal action against him for failing to make the necessary repairs on the leaking roof. Again, Larry is chargeable for the damages caused on the property. He should pay back Roger as compensation because all the damages were caused as a result of his negligence.
On the other hand, Roger damaged property in the house out of anger over the failure of Larry to take action. As seen earlier on in the paper, at no point should the tenant damage any part of the rental house which they occupy. Their obligation is to ensure that they maintain everything that they found there in the right order. The landlord can penalize the damage that Roger caused. Larry could deduct some amount in the security deposit as compensation for the property that was destroyed. Instead of getting angered over the matter, Roger should have taken legal action against Larry. He should have sued him in a court of law for failure to observe his duties.
In giving the verdict, Larry has no reason whatsoever to evict Roger from the house. His ignorance is the cause of all the trouble that they experienced. Had he fully renovated house, then there would not have been such a case at hand. He also cannot take any legal action against Roger. Doing so could put him too at crossroads because he too will come out as an offender. Similarly, Roger cannot take any action against Larry. He was only capable of doing that before he damaged property in the house but since he already did, it makes him as much a victim. Larry should, therefore, pay Roger for the damage that was caused on his property due to the leaking roof. He should also penalize Roger for the damage of property in the house. In the future, Larry should learn to respond to reported cases with immediate effect. He should always ensure that he maintains the landlord-tenant relationship at all times. This he can only achieve by living up to his responsibilities.
In conclusion, it is very paramount for every individual to understand what the landlord-tenant law implies. Everyone at one point comes to own a rental house and the earlier they understand the law, the better it gets for all. Again, any other person with the intentions of entering the rental housing business should understand clearly what is expected of them. They should always deliver the best of service to their tenants.
References
Eberlin, E. (2016). Basic landlord obligations under landlord-tenant law. The Balance . Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/basic-landlord-obligations-2125074.
Johnson, E. (2015). Rights and duties of tenants. Oregon State Bar . Retrieved from https://www.osbar.org/public/legalinfo/1246_RightsDutiesTenants.htm.
“ Landlord-tenant law.” (2016). Cornell University Law School . Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/landlord-tenant_law.
