Property Law

Assignment and Subleasing A tenant does not always remain in possession of leased property for the entire term of a lease. A tenant may move, transfer a business, bring in another occupant, or otherwise need someone else to use the premises. When that happens, two important legal mechanisms may become Read more

Constructive Eviction A tenant does not always have to be physically removed from leased property to be deprived of the benefit of a lease. Sometimes a landlord’s conduct—or serious failure to perform a legal obligation—makes the premises so unusable or substantially interferes with the tenant’s possession so severely that the Read more

Quiet Enjoyment When a tenant rents property, the tenant receives more than a contractual promise to pay rent. The tenant receives a possessory interest in property, and that possessory interest carries important legal protections. One of the most important is the covenant of quiet enjoyment. Despite its name, quiet enjoyment Read more

Implied Warranty of Habitability A person who rents a home is not merely purchasing the right to occupy four walls. Residential tenants generally have a legal right to expect that the premises will meet certain basic standards of health, safety, and livability. This principle is known as the implied warranty Read more

Landlord and Tenant Duties Landlord-tenant law is not simply about paying rent and allowing someone to live in a property. A lease creates an ongoing legal relationship in which both the landlord and the tenant have rights, responsibilities, and duties. The landlord generally has duties concerning the condition, maintenance, and Read more

Types of Tenancies 1. Introduction: What Is a Tenancy? A tenancy is a legal relationship in which one person has the right to possess and use real property belonging to another person, usually in exchange for rent. The person who grants possession is the landlord or lessor. The person who Read more

Landlord-Tenant Law 1. Introduction: What Is Landlord-Tenant Law? Landlord-tenant law governs the legal relationship between a person who owns or controls property and a person who has the right to possess and use that property under a lease or rental agreement. At its simplest, the relationship looks like this: Landlord Read more

Defects in Title 1. Introduction: What Is a Defect in Title? Real property can be transferred by deed, recorded in public records, insured by a title company, and still contain a legal problem. A defect in title is a problem affecting the ownership, transferability, priority, or legal status of an Read more

Marketable Title 1. Introduction: What Is Marketable Title? In property law, owning land is not enough. A buyer also wants confidence that the seller can provide good and transferable ownership without serious legal uncertainty. That idea is captured by the concept of marketable title. A marketable title is a title Read more