329. Taxes, Repairs, and Insurance. The general rule is, that in the absence of express stipulation in the lease to the contrary, all taxes are to be paid by the landlord. Even though the lease provides that the tenant is to pay all taxes, this does not include special assessments, such as assessments for city paving and sewers. Water rent is not included in the general term, taxes. The landlord is obliged to pay all taxes on the property unless the tenant expressly assumes them. In the absence of any express stipulation, the tenant must pay water-rent. There is no implied duty on the part of the tenant to insure the property leased.
A tenant is, in the absence of any express stipulation, required to keep the property in repair. He is not liable for ordinary wear and tear of the property, but must make ordinary repairs at his own expense. If the property is destroyed by fire without the fault of the tenant, the tenant is not liable for the loss. He is not obliged to rebuild the property destroyed. The lease is ended by the destruction of the property by fire, and the tenant is not obliged to pay further rent. The above is the rule fixed by statute in most states. The common law rule was that a tenant was not relieved from paying rent by the destruction of the building by fire.
330. Liability for Injuries Arising from Condition of Leased Premises. In the absence of any stipulation in the lease relative to the condition of the premises leased, the tenant is presumed to make the lease on his own judgment. There is no implied duty on the part of the landlord to deliver the premises in any particular condition. This rule is subject to the limitation that a landlord is not permitted to deliver possession of premises containing latent defects of such a character as would be liable to cause injury to a tenant. If injury results from such latent defects, the landlord is liable in damages to the tenant. As a rule, however, the tenant takes the premises as they are, and if injury results to himself by reason of apparent defects in the premises, he has no right of action against the landlord. The tenant has control of the premises. If persons are injured by reason of accummulations of snow or ice on the walks, the tenant, and not the landlord, is liable therefor.
331. Rent. The compensation given by a tenant to a landlord for the use of leased premises is called rent. A tenant may become liable for rent without any express agreement to that effect. If one person, with the consent of another, occupies the premises of the latter as a tenant, he is liable to pay the reasonable value of such occupancy, as rent. This obligation is implied from the relation of landlord and tenant existing between the parties.
Ordinarily, the matter of rent is expressly agreed upon and, until the tenant is evicted, his lease surrendered, or he is released, he is obliged to pay the landlord rent. The tenant's liability to pay rent does not necessarily depend upon actual occupancy of the leased premises. He may rent the premises for the use of another, or he may, without excuse, refuse to accept possession of the premises. In either event, he is liable for rent. If the lease expressly stipulates that the premises are in a certain condition as to plumbing, etc., the tenant may refuse to accept the possession if the conditions are not fulfilled. If, on the other hand, the tenant leases premises, nothing being said about their condition, the tenant is presumed to rely upon his own judgment, and the fact that the premises are uninhabitable by reason of defective plumbing, by reason of unhealthful conditions, or for any reason, does not release him from his contract. He is liable to pay the rent agreed upon. The landlord is not permitted to defraud the tenant. He cannot mislead the tenant by false or fraudulent representations. Fraud enables a tenant to avoid a lease.
If a tenant refuses to accept possession of premises leased, or abandons the premises without excuse, he is still liable for the rent for the balance of the term. If he surrenders the lease, and the landlord consents to the surrender, the tenant is relieved from further liability. But a voluntary abandonment by the tenant, not consented to by the landlord, does not relieve the tenant from liability to pay rent. If a tenant abandons the premises leased, the landlord may permit the premises to remain vacant and compel the tenant to pay the balance of the rent when it is due under the lease. The landlord may, on the other hand, accept the premises, and cancel the remainder of the lease. Again, the landlord may take possession of the premises and relet them for the benefit of the tenant, notifying the tenant of his intention. He may collect any deficiency in the rent from the original tenant. For example, if A rents B's house for one year for $300.00 and at the expiration of six months A abandons the premises, B may relet the premises to C for A's benefit. If B relets for A's benefit, he must obtain the best terms possible. If he obtains only $100.00 rent from C for the balance of the term, he can collect $50.00 from A.
332. Distress. At common law, a landlord had the right to take possession of the personal property of a tenant who was in arrears for rent, and hold the personal property until the rent was paid. This remedy is known as distress. When a landlord makes use of this remedy he is said to distrain for rent. A landlord cannot deprive the tenant of possession, and then distrain for rent. It is not an action against the tenant personally, as an action for debt. It is a mere right of a landlord to take possession of the tenant's personal property after rent is due, and while the tenant is still in possession of the leased property as tenant. The landlord may retain possession of his property as security for the rent. At common law, a landlord could not sell the property, but could hold it as security for the rent.
At the present time, the right to distrain for rent is not recognized by many states. Where recognized, it is regulated largely by statute. The landlord is usually required to give bond, and file an affidavit with a court to the effect that the rent of a certain amount is justly due. The property is then seized by an officer of the court, and upon final termination of the case, may be sold, and the proceeds applied to the payment of the rent. This action is now treated in the nature of an attachment. (See Attachment, chapter on Courts and Legal Remedies.) The remedies of a landlord commonly recognized at the present time are actions for rent, and actions to recover possession of the premises. These remedies are discussed under a separate section.
333. Leases. Lease is the term applied to the agreement by which one person becomes a tenant, and another a landlord. Leases are usually in the form of formal written instruments in which the rights and duties of the parties are quite fully set forth. No particular form of language is required to make a valid lease. If the agreement shows an intention on the part of the parties to create the relation of landlord and tenant, it is sufficient to constitute a lease. Parties may make oral leases covering short periods of time. Most of the states provide by statute that leases beyond certain periods must be in writing to be enforceable. This period varies in the different states. Some require leases in excess of three years to be in writing; others fix the limit at one year. Some of the statutes which do not specially require leases to be in writing, make them void as against purchasers or incumbrances if not recorded. Such statutes in effect require the lease to be in writing. A lease does not require a seal. By statute, most states require leases to be witnessed, usually by two witnesses, and acknowledged before a notary public. Witnessing is called attesting, or attestation. By acknowledgment is meant an admission of the signature by the parties to a lease before a notary public. The notary writes his certificate upon the lease, stating that the parties acknowledged the signature in his presence. The notary signs and seals the certificate of acknowledgment. The states generally require by statute that leases beyond a certain time, usually one or more years, be recorded with the public recorder of the county where the property leased is located, to be effectual as against subsequent purchasers or incumbrances.
Certain requisites are recognized in formal lease. The names and description of the parties, the terms of the lease, the description of the property, the signing, delivery, and acceptance of the lease, and the witnessing and acknowledging are regarded as essential features.