Mediation Landlord Tennant

Mediation of Landlord and Tenant

Business Law LEG 100

Mediation of Landlord and Tenant

The most important thing for all parties involved to understand is exactly what is expected of them and for these expectations to be defined in a formal document called a lease. A lease is a formal legal document outlining the terms under which one party agrees to rent property from another party. A lease is designed to protect both the landlord and the tenant and serve as a legal binding contract depicting each party’s responsibilities. In addition to a lease most state and local governments have requirements that need to be met called standard living conditions. For the most part, these living conditions are similar from state to state. In some instances, cities have code enforcers who do inspections on homes once they become vacant. Generally, this inspection consists of a walkthrough of the apartment or house while it is vacant to ensure that the property meets standard living conditions. Some items that are inspected are windows, doors, handrails on stairs, working heating system and hot water.

I will be leading the mediation between two individuals to settle a conflict regarding damages and possible negligence in a landlord and tenant agreement. Roger Renter is renting a property from Larry Landlord at $800 per month. The renter has shown to be a good tenant as rent is always paid on time and is not a disturbance to other tenants. During a rash of storms in the area, there seems to be an an identification of a leak in the properties roof. There were several attempts by the renter to have the landlord address this issue as to not cause any further damage to his personal property. It is understood that the landlord did not address this complaint which directly resulted in personal property being destroyed. There was attempted communication between the who several times. The renter advised that there was an initial leak and was told by the landlord it would be fixed, but wasn’t. During an altercation where again the issues were presented the renter grew angry and threw a baseball bat that caused damage to one of the walls at the property. It is at that point where the landlord investigated the leak and found said damage to the wall.

In a residential lease, the covenant of habitability is an unstated guarantee that the rental property meets basic living and safety standards. In order for an apartment or home to be considered habitable it should be free of pests, have a working electrical system, working toilet, lockable windows and doors, have hot water, have a working heating system, among other conditions. Even if a lease or contract does not state the necessity of a landlord to maintain