CAS Bar Property Law 3

Question 1

Which type of landlord-tenant relationship is created when the parties agree that the tenancy will last for a specific, fixed period with a definite end date?

Accepted Answer

Term of years (tenancy for years)

Answer

Periodic tenancy

Answer

Tenancy at will

Answer

Tenancy at sufferance

Question 2

Under California Civil Code § 1941, the implied warranty of habitability in residential leases requires that landlords:

Accepted Answer

Maintain the property in a condition fit for human occupancy throughout the tenancy

Answer

Guarantee the property is completely free from all defects, latent or patent

Answer

Ensure the property meets the tenant's personal comfort preferences

Answer

Repair only defects that existed before the tenancy commenced

Question 3

A tenant vacates a leased apartment before the lease term ends, claiming the landlord's persistent failure to provide heat constitutes constructive eviction. To prevail on this theory, the tenant must establish:

Accepted Answer

A substantial interference with quiet enjoyment caused by the landlord's act or omission, plus the tenant's actual vacation of the premises

Answer

That the landlord intentionally attempted to drive the tenant out of the premises

Answer

A minor but recurring breach that made the premises less comfortable over time

Answer

That the landlord received notice and failed to cure the defect within 30 days

Question 4

A commercial tenant assigns the remainder of a lease to an assignee without novation. Which statement best describes the resulting legal relationships?

Accepted Answer

The assignee is in privity of estate with the landlord while the original tenant remains in privity of contract

Answer

The original tenant is fully released from all obligations to the landlord upon assignment

Answer

The assignment severs all legal relationships between the original tenant and the landlord

Answer

The assignee has no direct obligations to the landlord absent an express assumption agreement

Question 5

Under California AB 12, effective July 1, 2024, the maximum security deposit a landlord may collect from a new residential tenant is:

Accepted Answer

One month's rent for most landlords, with a narrow exception allowing up to two months' rent for qualifying small landlords

Answer

Two months' rent for unfurnished units and three months' rent for furnished units

Answer

Three months' rent for all residential units regardless of furnishing status

Answer

No statutory cap — the parties may negotiate any amount in writing

Question 6

Under California Civil Code § 1942.5, if a landlord initiates eviction proceedings within 180 days after a tenant has made a good-faith complaint to a public agency about habitability, the law:

Accepted Answer

Creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliatory eviction, giving the tenant an affirmative defense to the unlawful detainer

Answer

Automatically voids the eviction and awards the tenant three months' rent as statutory damages

Answer

Requires the landlord to obtain prior court approval before serving any notice to quit

Answer

Imposes criminal liability on the landlord without requiring any further factual showing

Question 7

Under California law, when a tenant wrongfully abandons a leased property before the lease expires, the landlord's obligation is to:

Accepted Answer

Make reasonable efforts to re-let the property and mitigate damages

Answer

Accept the abandonment and sue only for rent that has already accrued to that date

Answer

Leave the property vacant and collect all future rent installments as they come due under the lease

Answer

Immediately file an unlawful detainer action to obtain a judgment for the full remaining term