Landlord and tenant relationship is an association between two individuals arising from an agreement by which one individual occupies the other’s real property with permission, subject to a rental fee.

The term landlord refers to a person who owns property and allows another person to use it for a fee. Theperson using the property is calleda tenant. The agreement between a landlord and a tenant is called a lease or rental agreement.

The landlord and tenant relationship has its roots in Feudalism, a system of land use and ownership thatflourished in Europe between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. Under feudalism land was owned andcontrolled by a military or political sovereign ruler. This ruler gaveportions of land he or she owned to another person, called a lord. The lord, in turn, could allow another person, called a vassal, to usesmallerportions of the lord’s land. The vassal pledged allegiance and military or other service to the lord in exchange for the right to live and work onthe land.

In 1066, the Normans of France conquered England, and William the Conqueror installed himself as king.King William used the feudal framework of land control to retain political power in faraway lands.Feudalism as a means of political control became obsolete by the fourteenth century, but the hierarchicalsystem of land use and ownership remained.

The contemporary landlord and tenant relationship derives from the relationship between the lord and thevassal. However, today the landlord is the owner of the property—not, like the feudal lord, merely themanager. The tenant is similar to the vassal because the tenant does notown the property but is allowedto use it for a fee.

The landlord and tenant relationship usually refers to a living arrangement. In this respect landlord andtenant law differs from the lawregarding leases. In a landlord and tenant relationship, the parties areoften referred to as lessor (landlord) and lessee (tenant). Because living arrangements are vital to humanexistence, landlord and tenant relationships are treated differently from lease contracts.

Generally, a landlord and tenant relationship exists if (1) the property owner consents to occupancy of thepremises; (2) the tenantacknowledges that the owner has title to the property and a future interest in theproperty; (3) the owner actually has title to the property; (4)the tenant receives a limited right to use thepremises; (5) the owner transfers possession and control of the premises to the tenant; and (6) a contractto rent exists between the parties.

A rental contract may be implied under the law. That is, landlord and tenant law may apply even in theabsence of a written and signed rentalagreement between the owner of the property and the person livingon the property. Whether a court will imply a relationship depends on thefacts of the case. The court willlook at a number of factors, including the owner’s consent to occupancy of the property, the length of the occupancy, and the exchange of monies, goods, or services. A court’s finding that a landlord andtenant relationship exists between two or more persons is significant because the law places duties on both parties in such a relationship.

Traditionally, landlord and tenant law was favorable to landlords. Courts resolved disputes betweenlandlords and tenants according to strict contract and property principles, and tenants often were forced to pick up and move without notice or an opportunity to present an argument to a court. Also, landlords hadno obligation to maintain the premises, and many tenants were forced to live in uninhabitable conditions.

In the twentieth century, as urban populations increased and workers became more specialized, landlordand tenant law was forced to change. Typical tenants were no longer as handy at making repairs as weretenants in previous years. They worked long hours, they did not have the time to maintain premises, andbuilding designs and utilities were more complex than before. These developments made maintenance a specialized task that could be carried out only by the landlord.

Before the 1960s, landlords were not required to rent out properties that were fit for habitation. Landlordscould rent filthy, rat infested apartments lacking basic amenities. Although no one was physically forced to live in such an apartment, for many persons it was the only kind they could afford.

Generally, landlords must deliver the rented premises to the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy, andmust disclose to the tenant any potential dangers and defects in the premises. The length of the tenancyshould be set out in the rental agreement. If no term is written into the agreement, courts will usuallydeem the tenancy to be month to month. This means that either party must give the other onemonth’s written notice before terminating the tenancy.

The cost of rent is usually governed by market forces, which means that it is usually dictated by whatlandlords in a similar area charge. Local laws in some urban areas, such as New York City, provide for rentcontrol. Rent control laws limit the amount of rent that a landlord may charge a tenant. Most rent controllaws, however, put limits on the amount that a landlord may increase the rent. A landlord may raiserentduring a rental period only with sufficient notice to a tenant. The terms of this notice are usually set forthin statutes or ordinances.

A concept related to quiet enjoyment is the tenant’s right to reasonable use of the premises. Landlordsmay not substantially interfere with this right. Whether actions by the landlord substantially interfere witha tenant’s reasonable use of the premises is determined by the facts of the case. To illustrate, assume thata tenant rents an apartment and works there repairing electronic equipment. The landlord’s refusalto allow the tenant to conduct such activity may constitute substantial interference of a reasonable use.If, however, the tenant uses the premises to mix explosive materials, the landlord may have the right to interfere because such a use is unreasonable.

If a landlord is found to have interfered with a tenant’s quiet enjoyment or reasonable use of thepremises, the tenant may recover damages.The measure of damages varies by jurisdiction. Usually, thetenant will not have to pay rent for the period of interference, and the tenant may seek damages for anylosses caused by the interference.

There are several reciprocal duties between landlords and tenants. A landlord must keep the premises in good repair, but the tenant must not damage the premises. The tenant must leave the premises in theiroriginal condition, accounting for reasonable wear and tear, or risk losing the security deposit (called damages in many places). A security deposit is money deposited by the tenant with the landlord to guarantee the tenant’s performance under the lease. If the tenant damages the premises, the landlordmay keep the security deposit and sue the tenant for damages not covered by the deposit.

A landlord must give a tenant notice to vacate the premises if the landlord wishes to rent the premises to another tenant. The landlord may not do this during a rental period. For example, if a tenant has signed a lease for one year, the landlord may not force the tenant to move until the end of the year. If the leaseperiod expires and the landlord has not found a new tenant and has not issued a new lease to thepresent tenant, the present tenant may be allowed to stay on the premises on a month-to-month basis.

If the tenant plans to move during a rental period, the tenant must give at least a one-month writtennotice to the landlord. If the tenant fails to give notice to the landlord and leaves the premises, the tenantmay be responsible for future rental payments. However, in this situation, the landlord is under a duty to take reasonable steps to find another tenant. This is called the duty to mitigate damages. Once thelandlord finds another tenant, or the original lease expires, the tenant’s duty to pay expires.

If the lease period expires and the landlord has found a new tenant, but the present tenant refuses to leave the premises, the landlord may sue the present tenant for damages if the landlord could be chargingthe new tenant more rent. The landlord may also have the tenant evicted by filing suit in court. Such a suit is called a wrongful or Unlawful Detainer. Unlawful detainers are governed by statute and may be based on damage to the property, nonpayment of rent, or unforeseen changes in the economic conditionsof the landlord.

A tenant may avoid eviction for nonpayment of rent by paying the past due rent along with any filingcosts incurred by the landlord. If the tenant is unable to pay rent before the court date, the tenant canstill present defenses to the eviction in court. For example, the tenant may argue that the rent is not duebecause the landlord failed to make necessary repairs. If the tenant is unable to defend successfully thefailure to pay rent, the court will order the tenant to vacate the premises by a certain date in the nearfuture. In order to collect the unpaid rent, thelandlord usually must file a separate action against thetenant.

Sometimes the action or inaction of a landlord may constitute a constructive eviction. A constructiveeviction occurs when the landlord has made living on the premises unbearable or impossible. For example,assume that a landlord has refused to provide some basic amenities to rented premises. This constitutes a constructive eviction, and the tenant is not liable for rent.

A tenant may give his or her rights as a tenant to another person. This is called an assignment, and it is permissible unless the landlord objects or unless it is prohibited in the rental agreement. If a tenantassigns his or her rights, the tenant is still responsible for the payment of rent. In essence the recipient of the rental rights, or assignee, is a tenant of the original tenant, and there is no legal relationship betweenthe assignee and the landlord.

Courts often examine lease agreements for unconscionability. Unconscionable agreements are ones thatunduly favor one party over the other. For example, assume that a rental agreement calls for the paymentof damages to the landlord if the tenant leaves the apartment without sufficient notice. If the courtconsiders the amount of damages to be too high, it may reduce the damages owed to the landlord.

Some lease agreements allow either party to break the agreement, and specify an amount of damagesthat the breaching party must pay to the other in the event of breach. Landlord-tenant relationshipsgoverned by such agreements are called tenancies at sufferance. Courts usually examine theseagreements to ensure that they are not unconscionable.

Landlords are under no obligation to rent to tenants. However, under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, theymay not refuse to rent based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.