Renting Property? You Should Know About the Right to Quiet Enjoyment

If you own property and you rent it out, your tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment is something that you should be aware of because even if not specifically spelled out in the lease the right has been read to exist in almost all contracts where there is a lease of property.

What is Quiet Enjoyment?

Although the word “quiet” is in the name, the right doesn’t have to do with noise necessarily. It has to do with the bundle of rights that any tenant has in the enjoyment and usage of his or her property. If that sounds vague it’s because it is; there isn’t a laundry list of rights that make up the right to quiet enjoyment. And in many cases, it’s just up to the judge whether a landlord has breached those rights.

Think of the right to quiet enjoyment as the rights that a tenant would expect to have when he or she rents property. Damaging, limiting or affecting property in a way that material infringes on the intended use of the property by the tenant, can be a breach of the covenant.

As an example, if a landlord were to move a tenant’s parking space a bit farther, that may not be enough to affect the right to quiet enjoyment. But if the landlord were to completely take away a tenant’s parking space, or move it a mile away, that could affect the tenant in a way that it can be said that he or she isn’t able to use the property as it was intended to be used when rented.

Up to the Courts

Many things that can affect a tenant’s usage of property so much so as to violate the covenant can be quite subjective.

As a landlord, you may have to take action against neighboring tenants who are rowdy, loud or disruptive (their actions can affect other tenants’ rights to use their property) if a tenant can’t ever sleep in their own apartment or leased premises without blasting noise, that tenant isn’t getting what he or she rented.

But how much noise is too much, or how often is too often for disruptively loud neighbors? That unfortunately depends on the judge in the case.

Entering Property

Entering a unit owned by a tenant can be a violation of quiet enjoyment; inherent in a tenant’s rights is the security of knowing that the landlord won’t come and go as it pleases. That said, reasonable intrusion, such as providing 24 hours notice before entering to do required maintenance, is fair and not a violation.

Breaking the Lease

Breaching the right of quiet enjoyment can lead to termination of the lease; a tenant may claim that he or she was evicted by your actions or inactions that deprive the tenant of the enjoyment of the property (called a constructive eviction).

Many tenants will claim constructive eviction, as a way to break a lease early, or to avoid paying unpaid rent. Of course, if you are the landlord, you’ll want to talk to an attorney about a tenant who raises this issue.

Question about leasing property of any kind? Call our Fort Lauderdale construction law attorneys at Sweeney Law P.A. at 954-440-3993 for help.

Source:

giffordpropertymanagement.com/implied-covenant-quiet-enjoyment