Property Law & Real Estate Flashcards

A and B own land as joint tenants with right of survivorship. A conveys A's interest to C, and then A dies. Who owns the land?

Answer: B and C as tenants in common

A's conveyance broke the unities of time and title, which severed the joint tenancy, so C holds as a tenant in common with B.

In a lien-theory state, joint tenant A mortgages A's interest without telling B, and then A dies. What is B's position?

Answer: B owns the land free of the mortgage

In a lien-theory state, a mortgage does not sever the joint tenancy, so the lien ends at A's death and B takes free of it.

Cotenant A lives alone on property co-owned with B. B, who was never kept out, demands fair rental value. Generally, A is:

Answer: Not liable absent ouster or an agreement

Each cotenant may possess the whole property, so a cotenant in sole possession owes no rent unless there was ouster or an agreement.

A creditor of only one spouse tries to levy on land the spouses hold as tenants by the entirety. In most jurisdictions that recognize the tenancy, the creditor:

Answer: Cannot reach the property

Tenancy by the entirety property cannot be reached by creditors of only one spouse in most recognizing jurisdictions.

Under the common-law rule, how much notice is needed to end a month-to-month periodic tenancy?

Answer: One full period, ending at the end of a period

A periodic tenancy ends only with notice of at least one full period that takes effect at the end of a period.

A tenant claims constructive eviction because of severe, ongoing flooding the landlord refuses to fix, but keeps living there for two years. The claim most likely:

Answer: Fails, because the tenant did not vacate within a reasonable time

Constructive eviction requires the tenant to leave within a reasonable time after the landlord fails to fix the problem.

Tenant T assigns the lease to A, and A stops paying rent. The landlord may recover rent from:

Answer: Both T (privity of contract) and A (privity of estate)

The original tenant stays liable under privity of contract, and the assignee is liable under privity of estate.