LANDLORD AND TENANT: RELEASING A HUSBAND FROM A JOINT LEASE WHEN THERE IS A RESTRAINING ORDER.
No. 492
The Landlord has been put on the spot. A tenant has been put out of the house by a domestic relations restraining order. His wife requests that his name be removed from the lease? What can or should the Landlord Do? Read my AVVO ANSWER.
CLT
Security Deposit Games.
I have been having an interesting conversation with a former resident in an apartment complex who moved out several months ago, leaving a forwarding address. Her landlord sent here a “list of damages” which in fact contained no damages at all, and no refund check.
GOT RATS?
No. 464
If you are a residential tenant and have rats, read my AVVO Answer today.
CLT
Landlord and Tenant: The Secret Lease Addendum
I just received an email from a man who signed a lease and later learned that there was an addendum he hadn’t seen requiring him to subscribe to a cable package that includes features he didn’t want. Since he hasn’t moved in, the question is whether he is obligated by the addendum and whether he can terminate the lease.
Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act.
Judging from the number of questions by tenants on the AVVO Question Board, there are a great number of tenants being displaced by mortgage foreclosures on the residential properties they rent. Moreover, the attorneys who are answering the questions seem to be unaware of the “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act.” This statute, effective last Spring, permits most residential tenants of foreclosed properties to stay for at least 90 days and perhaps until the end of the lease term.
Plain Language Consumer Contract Act: An Idea Whose Time Hasn’t Come Yet.
A tenant posting a question on the AVVO website wanted to know if a lease was unenforceable if the print was below a specified font size. We’ve all seen the “fine print.” It is usually not only very small, but quite lengthy and filled with difficult terms.
The Landlord and Tenant Act doesn’t say anything about [...]
Landlord-Tenant: Pugh v. Holmes, the end of Caveat Emptor.
t has been over thirty year since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court definitively laid to rest the venerable doctrine of caveat emptor in landlord tenant law and replaced it with the warranty of habitability. In Pugh v. Holmes, 486 Pa. 272, 405 A.2d 897 (1979), the Supreme Court stated that the ancient common law doctrine was rooted in an agrarian world where the land, not the dwelling was the focus. The house that came with the farm acreage predated electricity, indoor plumbing and all the modern amenities. The tenant was expected to inspect the dwelling and demand repairs at the time the lease was negotiated.
Landlord Tenant Question: Can Landlord Cancel Lease after Fire?
Q: My family lived in a rental house. There was a fire in the kitchen which totally destroyed it (the kitchen). The house is not liveable and we did not have renters insurance. We found temporary shelter, but the landlord is cancelling our lease, keeping our deposit and the payment for May’s rent, which I had already sent him. He says he is keeping the payment to help him pay his insurance deductible, or we’d have the pay out the lease for the rest of the term. Is that right or legal even. Need help quick!
LANDLORD & TENANT: PROPERTY LEFT AFTER TENANT DEPARTS.
Riders should be drafted to standard leases to deal with situations that could arise. Otherwise, the parties are forced to take their chances in court and, depending upon the facts, either one may have an expensive loss to absorb. One important purpose of written contracts is to reduce risk, especially when the risk is foreseeable. And the landlord doesn’t have to be the moving party. Tenants can and should propose contract modifications that address their concerns at the time the contract commences. Later may be too late.
LANDLORD & TENANT: Can You Terminate the Lease When a Fellow Tenant Makes Serious Threats?
In short, you are going to have to be willing to take a risk that you might lose. Whether you win or lose is going to depend a great deal on how convincing your evidence is. It would certainly help to have a good corroborating witness.
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CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 36 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.
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