Landlord - Tenant

Question 1

Tenants Duties: Paying Rent and IWH

Answer 1

• Generally, a tenant has duties to pay rent and avoid waste
• Tenant can withhold rent for a violation of the IWH
• Violation Occurs when a condition exists on the leased premises that is a serious threat to the life, health or safety of the occupant
• To assert tenant must (1) give written notice about the condition, (2) the landlord refused or failed to fix within 30 days, and (3) put the rent in escrow with the court
• Claim is defeated by the LL if they show (1) the claim does not exist, (2) the condition is fixed, (3) the condition was caused by the tenant, (4) the tenant won’t let them in to fix

Question 2

Landlord Duties

Answer 2

• In VA, the landlord of residential leases has a duty to mitigate, for nonresidential, they do not
• Landlord has a duty to give possession (actual i.e. clearing holdovers for residential, legal i.e. just legal rights for commercial)
• If the landlord does not give actual possession to the buyer, they do not have to pay rent and can (1) terminate the lease by giving 5 days notice or (2) demand performance. If the landlord withheld willfully, they can get attorneys fees too

-Compliance with IWH: (1) make repairs, (2) keep common areas safe, (3) just basically make sure the place is healthy. If they violate they are liable for actual damages based on the reduced fair rental value, or have the rent excused

• Security Deposit: in VA they must send it back within 45 days, and it can max be up to 2 months rent