Complete Home & Office Legal Guide/Complete Home and Office Legal Guide (Chestnut) (1993).ISO/tut/landtent.stb

Text File | 1993-08-01 | 15KB | 352 lines

/* 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repealed by subsequent legislation if that construction can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 mortga