What is a Breach of Contract in a Rental Agreement?
In general, a breach of a rental contract by the landlord is any failure to fulfill an obligation imposed by the lease or the applicable laws. For example, a landlord that refuses to make repairs to the property can be in breach. If that failure to make repairs caused damage to the property, then the landlord may be responsible to compensate the tenant for that damage. The lease might specifically state that the landlord has the responsibility of making certain repairs. However, even if the lease is silent on a particular type of repair, a landlord may be deemed to be in breach.
Most states have laws that require landlords to maintain the rental property in a safe and habitable condition . A landlord that fails to do so can be in breach of the lease agreement. An example of a breach is a landlord that refuses to repair a leaking toilet. Such a leak could cause mold that might threaten the safety and habitability of the property. Tenants might be able to sue their landlord for damages resulting from a breach of the lease agreement.
Common tenant rights include:
The breach of rental contract remedies for landlords include:
The specific actions a landlord might take that could be a breach can vary by state. Such examples might include:
Some states have expanded on what actions by a landlord can be considered a breach of the rental contract. Those breaches might include issues that are more commonly associated with a tenant.
Legal Rights for Tenants When There is a Breach of Contract
Legal Rights of Tenants When Their Landlord Breaches the Contract
When a landlord breaches a rental agreement in what is often termed a "constructive eviction", tenants have the legal right to terminate the lease, continue paying their rent, bring suit for damages, or even withhold their rent. Three of the remedies available to tenants via the legal system are treaties created between landlords and tenants, compensation for damages, and proof that a lease even existed. When tenants show a court that they had a valid, socially responsible contract with their landlord for housing and the landlord broke it, they may receive payment from their landlord via "damages" or money. Here is a brief description of each remedy: (a) Breach of contract: The most common remedy, tenants may simply terminate their contract with their landlord, move out of the apartment or house and sue their landlord for failed promises and payment for any additional damages suffered. (b) Abandonment: Under these conditions, tenants can move into another apartment or house, and their landlord can’t charge them any more than their current rental amount. (c) Withholding rent: Tenants may pay for repairs to their apartment or house and have their landlord reimburse them for the repairs. It is likely you signed a cold, complex lease agreement without thinking it through. Two months later, your landlord & perhaps even your tenants’ association, would point out the clause that essentially states under no circumstance could you sublet or customize the apartment, despite the fact that you have a very expensive and magnificent set of designer drapes. If you should win a decision to remove this clause, your landlord could still appeal the decision, which could add many months and thousands of dollars in legal fees. The reason most rent stabilized tenants sign leases is for the peace of mind it provides, not because they are naïve and want to break their landlord’s contract. Furthermore, upon taking possession of a lease, the landlord becomes responsible for the unfit conditions of the unit, to soon be repaired or rented to a more discerning tenant.
What to Do if Your Landlord Breaches the Contract
If you are a tenant who suspects that your landlord has breached the rental contract, there are several immediate steps you can take to protect your rights:
- Review the Contract Quickly – As soon as you believe the contract has been breached, read through the lease agreement or rental contract carefully. Check the provisions you believe have been violated and the steps laid out for how to remedy things.
- Document the Breach – Start an official record of what has occurred. This can be something as simple as a word document or a notebook you keep, but make sure you detail the date the breach occurred, as well as the victimization. For example: "On 9/1/2017, the landlord failed to provide a working air conditioning unit in apartment 3A," or "On 9/5/2017, the landlord cut off water to the building for hours, prohibiting me from being able to use the facilities." The more specific information you provide, the more effective your documentation will be.
- Communicate with Your Landlord – You must also reach out to your landlord immediately about the issue. You should do this in writing, such as through email. If you prefer not to keep such a written record, you can send a letter to your landlord to be delivered or returned receipt requested. Make sure you avoid detail here, stating only that you believe the contract has been breached (and how), and you would like them to remedy it. You cannot refuse to pay rent even though the landlord has breached the contract, so avoid any reference to withholding rent.
- Send a Demand Notice – You normally do not legally need to provide the landlord with an official demand notice (also called a formal demand letter) until after the landlord has been given a chance to remedy the situation and has failed to do so.
If your landlord has breached a rental contract and not remedied the situation despite reasonable attempts on your part to keep things amicable, contact an experienced tenant lawyer to discuss your options.
Remedies for Breaches of Contracts for Tenants
In many cases, tenants have options that are less drastic than attempting to terminate their lease. Depending on the severity of the breach, and the extent to which it has affected the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the premises, the tenant may be entitled to rent abatement or offset, in addition to his or her right to pursue any remedy the law might afford.
For example, a landlord’s failure to repair a leaky sink for a protracted period of time may not substantially impair a tenant’s ability to enjoy the premises, whereas a leak in the apartment above a tenant’s that causes water to pour through the ceiling and into the tenant’s unit for weeks on end would likely impair the tenant’s use and enjoyment, and could conceivably affect the habitability of the unit such that it may legally justify lease termination.
Payment of potentially diminished rent, or rent abatement, may justify an offset against any damages the tenant owes to the landlord, such as monthly rent. If the tenant’s breach has diminished the value of the premises, such as through unregistered guest occupancy or holding pet dogs or cats in her apartment in violation of the lease, the landlord may increase the monthly rent as a penalty. In this event, the tenant might be entitled to offset her rent payment by that amount until remedied. Because remedies should be pursued with extreme care and exactness, you should consult a Mount Laurel landlord-tenant attorney before attempting to repair and deduct.
Legal Action for Breaches of Contract – How to Sue for Breach of Contact
When more peaceful steps, such as trying to discuss things with your landlord simply do not work to solve your problem or when you want to hurry things along and not have to deal with delays on the part of your landlord, sometimes a lawsuit is going to be necessary.
Generally speaking, there are two different forms under which a lawsuit for breach of a rental agreement can be brought. The first option is Small Claims Court and the second option is general litigation through the Civil Court. Most frequently, tenants will bring their action in Small Claims Court.
If you are suing your landlord for under $10,000.00 in damages, you should usually go this route . You may cite both statutory and common law causes of action in your complaint. You never have to hire a lawyer in Small Claims Court. However, the other side is permitted to be represented by an attorney. You will have a hearing before a small panel of judges or referees, and those judges will usually decide whether or not you win the case.
If you are suing your landlord for more than $10,000.00, you usually must pursue your case in general Civil Court. A jury decides the case, not a panel of referees. Additionally, a greater amount of evidence can be introduced and the rules are the same as in any other type of civil litigation. Because of the complexity of the lawsuit, the necessity of hiring a lawyer is usually mandatory.
How to Stop Contract Disputes From Happening Again
There are some ways that a tenant can help to prevent future breach of contract disputes with their landlord. These tips are not exhaustive, nor will they guarantee that the dispute will not happen, but it will be helpful in addressing issues with future landlord-tenant relations.
Although this is not always possible, prospective tenants should try to negotiate contract provisions that will help protect them in the future. For example, the lease agreement could require a monthly maintenance inspection to catch and remedy any small issues before they develop into a larger issue. An early solution tends to be better than an after-the-fact response to a problem. When negotiating with a landlord, tenants need to be reasonable in their requests. The landlord may be more willing to negotiate if the suggestion is tempered with reasonableness.
Another option is to suggest other options to remedy the problem prior to termination—such as a rent abatement, giving the tenants the opportunity to leave without penalty, or other ways to cure the breach of contract. A tenant should not expect their landlord to always be happy with their suggestions, and the landlord is certainly within their rights to reject the tenant’s alternative remedies. However, if the tenant has made a good faith effort to try to make the landlord amenable to a negotiated solution, that tenant may have additional remedies to pursue.
When to Contact a Lawyer
Beyond simple disputes over the return of a security deposit, some breach of rental contract situations may be complex enough that a tenant requires legal advice. The most common instances in which tenants should seek legal advice include retaliatory actions by the landlord, persistent issues that have not been properly addressed, and in cases where the lease includes ambiguous or complex legal terms.
In some cases, landlords can take "retaliatory" actions against tenants who assert their legal rights. Under certain statutes and ordinances, paraphrased as follows, it is unlawful for any lessor to retaliate by taking an adverse action against a lessee within 90 days of a tenant’s exercise of legal rights. Retaliatory actions include, but are not limited to, the following:
Notice of Rent Increase
Notice of Nuisance Charge
Notice of Lease Nonrenewal
Lease Termination Notice
Notice of Default
Notice of Rent Increase
Notice to Vacate
Notice of Lockout
Threat of Rental Agreement Termination
Threat of Nonpayment Eviction
Refusal to Make Repairs
Assumption of Lease Obligations
Threat of Rent Increase
Common retaliatory actions include threats of or actual eviction, failure to return a security deposit, increase in the amount of rent to be charged, refusal to perform building maintenance, and termination of the tenancy .
The timing of a given action is one of the most important features of a landlord-tenant dispute. If the vacation of premises occurs shortly after a tenant has asserted a legal right, or if punitive action has been initiated shortly after a tenant has taken legal action against the landlord, courts will readily hold that a lease violation is pretextual. Since retaliatory actions by landlords are sometimes not overtly apparent, it is highly recommended that a tenant contact an attorney to ensure protection of their legal rights.
Even when a landlord does not engage in retaliatory action, if a tenant continues to experience problems with their living environment, they may be required to obtain court intervention. An increasing number of complaints of habitability defects can articulate a real threat to tenant health and safety. Landlord failure to address structural or environmental issues can provide sufficient grounds to terminate a lease and order the landlord to pay tenant relocation costs.
Breach of contract claims are often difficult to pursue because provisions of a written lease are often unclear or ambiguous. Even if a tenant believes that they have unambiguous evidence of a lease violation, real-world complexities can complicate their case. For example, if a tenant and landlord both agree that the lease has been breached, they still may not agree on precisely what constitutes a breach or how damages should be calculated.