TX Bar Real Property Law 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Texas Property Code § 92.103, a residential landlord must return a tenant's security deposit within how many days after the tenant surrenders the premises?
- 14 days
- 30 days (Correct answer)
- 45 days
- 60 days
Correct answer: 30 days
Texas Property Code § 92.103 requires landlords to refund a security deposit within 30 days after the tenant surrenders possession.
Question 2: Constructive eviction occurs when:
- A landlord physically removes a tenant's belongings from the premises
- A landlord fails to serve a required written eviction notice before filing suit
- A landlord's substantial interference with the tenant's use and enjoyment causes the tenant to vacate (Correct answer)
- A landlord enters without notice to make emergency repairs
Correct answer: A landlord's substantial interference with the tenant's use and enjoyment causes the tenant to vacate
Constructive eviction requires that the landlord's wrongful conduct substantially interfere with the tenant's use and enjoyment, and that the tenant actually abandon the premises within a reasonable time.
Question 3: Trade fixtures installed by a commercial tenant:
- Become permanent fixtures and cannot be removed without the landlord's written consent
- Must be removed within 30 days after lease expiration or become the landlord's property by accession
- May generally be removed by the tenant prior to or at the expiration of the lease (Correct answer)
- Are automatically transferred to the landlord upon lease termination as improvements
Correct answer: May generally be removed by the tenant prior to or at the expiration of the lease
Trade fixtures installed by a commercial tenant for business purposes are generally removable by the tenant before or at lease expiration.
Question 4: A sublease differs from an assignment in that:
- A sublease transfers the entire remaining lease term to the subtenant
- In a sublease, the original tenant retains a reversionary interest and remains in privity of contract with the landlord (Correct answer)
- A sublease always requires the landlord's prior written consent
- In a sublease, the subtenant becomes directly liable to the landlord for rent
Correct answer: In a sublease, the original tenant retains a reversionary interest and remains in privity of contract with the landlord
In a sublease, the original tenant transfers less than the full remaining term, retaining a reversion, and remains responsible to the landlord under the original lease.
Question 5: Which of the following would most likely be classified as a fixture rather than personal property?
- A freestanding refrigerator connected to a standard electrical outlet
- A portable dishwasher attached to a kitchen faucet by a flexible hose
- A large flat-screen television mounted to the wall with a removable bracket
- A built-in furnace permanently integrated into the home's heating ductwork (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A built-in furnace permanently integrated into the home's heating ductwork
A built-in furnace permanently integrated into the home's infrastructure is a fixture due to the high degree of annexation and the objective intent to make a permanent improvement.
Question 6: A license to use land is distinguishable from an easement primarily because:
- A license must be granted by a recorded deed to be enforceable
- A license runs with the land and binds successors in interest
- A license is generally revocable at the will of the licensor, unlike an easement (Correct answer)
- A license requires consideration to be valid
Correct answer: A license is generally revocable at the will of the licensor, unlike an easement
A license is a personal, revocable privilege to use another's land, whereas an easement is an irrevocable property right that binds successors.
Question 7: Under which equitable doctrine may a licensor be prevented from revoking a license?
- Adverse possession, if the licensee has used the land openly for 10 years
- Estoppel, when the licensee has detrimentally relied on the license by making substantial improvements (Correct answer)
- Merger, when the licensee acquires title to an adjacent parcel
- The recording act, if the license was recorded in the county deed records
Correct answer: Estoppel, when the licensee has detrimentally relied on the license by making substantial improvements
Estoppel can render a license irrevocable when the licensee, in reasonable reliance on the license, has made substantial expenditures that cannot be recouped upon revocation.
TX Bar Real Property Law 3
Under Texas Property Code § 92.103, a residential landlord must return a tenant's security deposit within how many days after the tenant surrenders the premises?