Real Estate Investing Landlord and Tenant Law 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A property is sold while tenants are living under a fixed-term lease. What happens to the lease?
- The lease automatically terminates on sale
- The new owner takes the property subject to the existing lease (Correct answer)
- The tenant must renegotiate with the new owner
- The lease converts to month-to-month
Correct answer: The new owner takes the property subject to the existing lease
Under the 'sale does not break lease' doctrine, a fixed-term lease survives a property sale and binds the new owner.
Question 2: What is the legal concept of 'joint and several liability' in the context of co-tenants on a lease?
- Each co-tenant is only responsible for their share of rent
- Each co-tenant can be held fully responsible for the entire rent obligation (Correct answer)
- Co-tenants share liability only for damages, not rent
- Joint and several liability only applies to commercial leases
Correct answer: Each co-tenant can be held fully responsible for the entire rent obligation
Joint and several liability means the landlord can pursue any one co-tenant for the full amount of rent owed, regardless of internal agreements among tenants.
Question 3: A city with rent control passes an ordinance capping annual rent increases at 3%. A landlord's mortgage costs increase by 8%. The landlord can legally:
- Raise rent by 8% to cover costs
- Only raise rent up to the 3% cap
- Petition for a hardship exemption if costs exceed the cap (Correct answer)
- Immediately convert to commercial use to avoid the cap
Correct answer: Petition for a hardship exemption if costs exceed the cap
Most rent control ordinances include a hardship petition process allowing landlords to seek additional increases when operating costs significantly exceed the standard cap.
Question 4: Under the federal SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act), a military tenant who receives deployment orders can:
- Terminate a lease with 30 days' written notice and a copy of deployment orders (Correct answer)
- Break the lease only if deployed for over 12 months
- Only terminate month-to-month leases
- Must pay a penalty equal to two months' rent
Correct answer: Terminate a lease with 30 days' written notice and a copy of deployment orders
The SCRA allows active-duty servicemembers to terminate a lease by providing written notice and a copy of military orders for deployment of 90+ days.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes a 'holdover tenant'?
- A tenant who sublets without permission
- A tenant who remains in possession after the lease expires (Correct answer)
- A tenant who refuses to pay the last month's rent
- A tenant who violates a no-pet clause
Correct answer: A tenant who remains in possession after the lease expires
A holdover tenant continues to occupy a property after the lease term ends without the landlord's express consent to renew.
Question 6: A landlord fails to return a security deposit within the statutory deadline and provides no itemized deduction list. Under most state laws, the landlord may be liable for:
- The deposit amount only
- Double or triple the deposit as a penalty (Correct answer)
- The deposit plus one month's rent
- Nothing if the tenant damaged the property
Correct answer: Double or triple the deposit as a penalty
Most states penalize landlords who wrongfully withhold security deposits by requiring payment of double or triple the deposit amount as a deterrent.
Question 7: What is the key difference between a 'notice to quit' and a 'notice to cure or quit'?
- A notice to quit terminates for non-payment; a cure notice is for lease violations (Correct answer)
- They are legally identical in all states
- A notice to quit gives the tenant a chance to fix the problem
- A cure notice is only used in commercial leases
Correct answer: A notice to quit terminates for non-payment; a cure notice is for lease violations
A notice to cure or quit gives the tenant an opportunity to remedy a lease violation, while a straight notice to quit (often for non-payment) simply demands the tenant vacate.
Real Estate Investing Landlord and Tenant Law 4
A property is sold while tenants are living under a fixed-term lease.
What happens to the lease?