/* Home and Business Legal Guide: Residential Landlord and Tenant 
Act- Full text with annotations-- This Act has been adopted in 
the following states, although in many cases with amendments:

Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, 
Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, South 
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

As usual, each state has "improved" on the basic model. We do not 
document the changes state by state. This law represents the 
"progressive" latest legal views on what a landlord tenant 
relationship should be. It is likely to be adopted by many more 
states in the future. We provide it as an example of what to 
expect for those not living in the uniform states.*/

Section 1.101 Short Title

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform 
Residential Landlord and Tenant Act."

Section 1.102 Purposes; Rules of Construction

(a) This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote 
its underlying purposes and policies.

(b) Underlying purposes and policies of this Act are

     (1) to simplify, clarify, modernize, and revise the law 
governing the rental of dwelling units and the rights and 
obligations of landlords and tenants;
     
     (2) to encourage landlords and tenants to maintain and 
improve the quality of housing; and

     (3) to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of 
this Act among those states which enact it.

Section 1.103 Supplementary Principles of Law Applicable

     Unless displaced by the provisions of this Act, the 
principles of law and equity, including the law relating to 
capacity to contract, mutuality of obligations, principal and 
agent, real property, public health, safety and fire prevention, 
estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress coercion, mistake, 
bankruptcy, or other validating or invalidating clause supplement 
its provisions.

Section 1.104 Construction against Implicit Repeal

     This Act being a general act intended as unified coverage of 
its subject matter, no part of it is to be construed as impliedly 
repealed by subsequent legislation if that construction can 
reasonably be avoided.

Section 1.105 Administration 

     (a) The remedies provided by this Act shall be so 
administered that an aggrieved party may recover appropriate 
damages. The aggrieved party has a duty to mitigate damages.

/* That is a fascinating section. Mitigation of damages are steps 
taken to lessen losses. At common law, a landlord is not required 
to mitigate damages. In fact at common law, if a tenant leaves, 
the landlord is allowed to simply leave the premises vacant and 
bill the tenant for rent. Maybe not any more........ */

Section 1.106 Settlement of disputed Claim or Right

     A claim or right arising under this Act or on a rental 
agreement, if disputed in good faith, may be settled by 
agreement.

Section 1.201 Territorial application

     This Act applies to and regulates, and determines rights, 
obligations, and remedies under a rental agreement, wherever 
made, for a dwelling unit within this state.

Section 1.202 Exclusions for Application of Act

     Unless created to avoid the application of this Act, the 
following arrangements are not governed by this Act:

     (11) residence at an institution, public or private, if 
incidental to detention or the provision of medical, geriatric, 
educational, counseling, religious or similar service;

     (2) occupancy under a contract of sale of a dwelling unit or 
the property of which it is a part, if the occupant is the 
purchaser or a person who succeeds to his interest;

     (3) occupancy by a member of a fraternal or social 
organization in the portion of a structure operated for the 
benefit of the organization;

     (4) transient occupancy in a hotel, or motel or lodgings 
subject to cite state transient lodgings or room occupancy sales 
tax act;

     (5) occupancy by an employee of a landlord whose right to 
occupancy is conditional upon employment in and about the 
premises;

     (6) occupancy by an owner of a condominium unit or a holder 
of a proprietary lease in a cooperative;

     (7) occupancy under a rental agreement covering premises 
used by the occupant primarily for agricultural purposes.

1.203 Jurisdiction and Service of Process

     (a) The _____ court of this state may exercise jurisdiction 
over any landlord with respect to any conduct in this state 
governed by this Act or with respect to any claim arising from a 
transaction subject to this Act. In addition to any other method 
provided by rule or by statute, personal jurisdiction over a 
landlord may be acquired in a civil action or proceeding 
instituted in the court by the service of process in the manner 
provided by this section.

     (b) If a landlord is not a resident of this state or is a 
corporation not authorized to do business in this state and 
engaged in any conduct in this state governed by this Act, or 
engages in a transaction subject to this Act, he may designate an 
agent upon whom service of process may be made in this state. The 
agent shall be a resident of this state or a corporation 
authorized to do business in this state. This designation shall 
be in writing and filed with ________. If no designation is made 
and filed or if process cannot be served in this state upon the 
designated agent, process may be served upon the _______, but 
service upon him is not effective unless the plaintiff or 
petitioner forthwith mails a copy of the process and pleading by 
registered or certified mail to the defendant or respondent at 
his last reasonably ascertainable address. An affidavit of 
compliance with this section shall be filed with the clerk of the 
court on or before the return day of the process if any, or 
within any further time as the court allows. 

Section 1.301 General Definitions

Subject to additional definitions contained in subsequent 
Articles of this Act which apply to specific Articles or Parts 
thereof, and unless the context otherwise requires, in this Act

     (1) "action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, set-off, 
suit in equity, and any other proceeding in which rights are 
determined, including an action for possession;

     (2) "building and housing codes" includes any law, 
ordinance, or governmental regulation concerning fitness for 
habitation, or the construction, maintenance, operation, 
occupancy, use, or appearance of any premises, or dwelling unit;

     (3) "dwelling unit" means a structure or the part of a 
structure that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by 
one person who maintains a household, or by 2 or more persons who 
maintain a common household;

     (4) "good faith" means honesty in fact in the conduct of the 
transaction concerned;

     (5) "landlord" means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of the 
dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part, and it also 
means a manager of the premises who fails to disclose as required 
by Section 2.102;

/* Review this section for an interesting idea. Often Joe Jones 
Ltd. an off-shore partnership actually owns an apartment complex 
or hoe, but "Gold star Management" runs the show. The Management 
Company looks like the landlord (even the rent is made out to it) 
and acts like it, but isn't. This act places an obligation of 
disclosure on the management company to disclose that fact. */

    (6) "organization" includes a corporation, government, 
governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, 
trust, partnership or association, 2 or more persons having a 
joint or common interest, and any other legal or commercial 
entity;

/* As drafted this means that this code also applies to 
government funded housing. */    

    (7) "owner" means one or more persons, jointly or severally, 
in whom is vested (i) all or part of the legal title to property 
or (ii) all or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to 
present use and enjoyment of the premises. The term also includes 
a mortgagee in possession;

/* A "mortgagee in possession" refers to an organization who 
holds a lien on the property, like a bank, that under the 
mortgage takes over the property pending foreclosure. */

    (8) "person" includes an individual or organization;

    (9) "premises" means a dwelling unit and the structure of 
which it is a part and facilities and appurtenances therein and 
grounds, areas, and facilities held out for the use of tenant 
generally or whose use is promised to the tenant;

    (10) "rent means all payments to be made to the landlord 
under the rental agreement;

    (11) "rental agreement" means all agreements, written or 
oral, and valid rules and regulations adopted under Section 3.102 
embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and 
occupancy of a dwelling unit and premises;

    (12) "roomer" means a person occupying a dwelling unit that 
does not include a toilet and either a bath tub or shower and a 
refrigerator, stove, and kitchen sink, all provided by the 
landlord, and where one or more of these facilities are used in 
common by occupants in the structure;

    (13) "single family residence" means a structure maintained 
and used as a single family dwelling. Notwithstanding that a 
dwelling unit shares one or more walls with another dwelling 
unit, it is a single family residence if it has direct access to 
a street or thoroughfare and shares neither heating facilities, 
hot water equipment, nor any other essential facility or service 
with any other dwelling unit;

    (14) "renter" means a person entitled under a rental 
agreement to occupy dwelling unit to the exclusion of others.

Section 1.302 Obligation of Good Faith

    Every duty under this Act and every act which must be 
performed as a condition precedent to the exercise of a right or 
remedy under this Act imposes an obligation of good faith in its 
performance or enforcement.

Section 1.303 Unconscionability

    (a) If the court, as a matter of law, finds

         (1) a rental agreement or any provision thereof was 
unconscionable when made, the court may refuse to enforce the 
agreement, enforce the remainder of the agreement without the 
unconscionable provision, or limit the application of any 
unconscionable provision to avoid an unconscionable result; or

         (2) a settlement in which a part waives or agrees to 
forego a claim or right under this Act or under a rental 
agreement was unconscionable when made, the court may refuse to 
enforce the settlement, enforce the remainder of the settlement 
without the unconscionable provision, or limit the application of 
any unconscionable provision to avoid an unconscionable result.

    (b) If unconscionability is put into issue by a party or by 
the court upon its own motion the parties shall be afforded a 
reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to the setting, 
purpose, and effect of the rental agreement or settlement to aid 
the court in making the determination.

Section 1.304 NOTICE

    (a) A person has notice of a fact if

         (1) he has actual knowledge of it,

         (2) he has received a notice or notification of it, or

         (3) from all the facts and circumstances known to him at 
the time in question he has reason to know that it exists.

    A person "knows" or "has knowledge" of a fact if he has 
actual knowledge of it.           

    (b) A person notifies or gives a notice or notification to 
another person by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform 
the other in ordinary course whether or not the other actually 
comes to know if it. A person "receives" a notice or notification 
when

         (1) it comes to his attention;

         (2) in the case of the landlord, it is delivered at the 
place of business of the landlord through which the rental 
agreement was made or at any place held out by him as the place 
for receipt of communication; or

         (3) in the case of the tenant, it is delivered in hand 
to the tenant or mailed by registered or certified mail to him at 
the place held out by him as the place for receipt of the 
communication, or in the absence of such designation, to his last 
known place of residence.

    (c) "Notice," knowledge of a notice or notification received 
by an organization is effective for a particular transaction from 
the time it is brought to the attention of the individual 
conducting that transaction, and in any event from the time it 
would have been brought to his attention if the organization had 
exercised reasonable diligence.

Section 1.401 Terms and Conditions of Rental Agreement

    (a) A landlord and tenant may include in a rental agreement 
terms and conditions not prohibited by this Act or other rule of 
law, including rent, term of the agreement, and other provisions 
governing the rights and obligations of the parties.

    (b) In absence of agreement, the tenant shall pay as rent the 
fair rental value for the use and occupancy of the dwelling unit.

    (c) Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and 
place agreed upon by the parties. Unless otherwise agreed, rent 
is payable at the dwelling unit and periodic rent is payable at  
the beginning of any term of one month or less and otherwise in 
equal month installments at the beginning of each month. Unless 
otherwise agreed, rent is uniformly apportionable from day to 
day.

    (d) Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the 
tenancy is week to week in case of a roomer who pays weekly rent, 
and in all other cases month to month.

Section 1.402 Effect of Unsigned or Undelivered Rental Agreement

    (a) If the landlord does not sign and deliver a written 
rental agreement signed and delivered to him by the tenant, 
acceptance of rent without reservation by the landlord gives the 
rental agreement the same effect as if it had been signed and 
delivered by the landlord.

/* The point here is that if the landlord or tenant "forgets" to 
sign the lease that they are nevertheless bound. /

    (b) If the tenant does not sign and deliver a written rental 
agreement signed and delivered to him by the landlord, acceptance 
of possession and payment of rent without reservation gives the 
rental agreement the same effect as if it had been signed and 
delivered by the tenant.

    (c) If a rental agreement given effect by the operation of 
this section provides for a term longer than one year, it is 
effective for only one year.

Section 1.403 Prohibited Provisions in Rental Agreements
 
    (a) A rental agreement may not provide that the tenant:

         (1) agrees to waive or forego rights or remedies under 
this Act;

         (2) authorizes any person to confess a judgment on a 
claim arising out of the rental agreement;

         (3) agree to pay the landlord's attorney's fees; or

         (4) agrees to the exculpation or limitation of any 
/* We continue this statute in Section 2, Uniform Landlord Tenant 
Act. */