Are Tenants Completely at the Mercy of Landlords?
Are Tenants completely at the mercy of Landlords?
A tenant is a person who has the legal right to live in or use a property because they have an agreement with someone acting as the landlord. The agreement can be written or made verbally. A person can become a tenant by signing an agreement, or by taking over someone else’s rental agreement, or through another way that the law allows.
A lease refers to a legal contract where a property owner (a landlord), gives another person or business (a tenant), the right to use and occupy a piece of land or a building for a stated period in exchange for regular or periodic rent payments.
The term landlord is commonly used to describe someone who rents out property to a tenant. A lessor is the legal term for a landlord in a lease or rental agreement with a lessee. The term “lessee” is another word that refers to the tenant.
The following are characteristics of a lease:
- The parties involved; such as a landlord and a tenant;
- Right of exclusive possession/ occupation of the premises (which is explained later in this article);
- Term (the length of time rented to the tenant) granted is less than term held by the landlord;
- Term is fixed or is determinable by either party;
- Interest in land created and held by the tenant;
- Landlord reserves the right to collect rent; and
- Landlord retains the right to regain possession which is called reversion
The subject matter must be land or incorporeal hereditament (an intangible right connected to land that can be inherited by beneficiaries).
A lease may be created by express grant, implication, written agreement, oral agreement, statue, attornment or estoppel. There are different types of tenants. These include, tenancy at will, tenancy at sufferance, fixed tenancy and periodic tenancy, the last two being the most common. In Trinidad and Tobago, tenants’ rights are governed by common law legal principles and legislation, such as the Rent Restriction Act (expired) Letting of Houses (Implied Terms) Act Chapter 27 No. 8, Landlord and Tenant Ordinance Chapter 27 No. 16 and the Land Tenants (Security of Tenure) Act. Collectively, the common law and legislation ensure protection of the Tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment, handling of deposits, habitable premises and safeguards against unlawful evictions, etc.
A tenant has the right to assign or sublet with the consent of the landlord. This consent should not be unreasonably withheld and the rent payable by any subtenant shall not exceed the rent payable by the principal tenant of the landlord. This means as a tenant you can, with the consent of your landlord, seek to rent or lease the property to another person during the term of your rental agreement or lease.
When the owner or the landlord of a property grants a lease, the tenant acquires a right to exclusive possession or occupation against the landlord. This means that the tenant has a right to prohibit or prevent entry to all persons unto the premises, including the landlord, except where the agreement provides for or the tenant allows the landlord’s entry. Nevertheless, the landlord remains in possession of the reversion on the lease and the tenant’s possession, although exclusive of the landlord, is also on behalf of the landlord. There can be no tenancy in the absence of the grant of exclusive possession.
Tenants have the right to use the facilities and amenities of the premises. The tenant also has a right to request repairs and maintenance if the landlord has contractually agreed to same. Tenants have a right to a refund of any security deposit paid, at the end of the lease, where there has been no damage to the premises.
The relationship between a landlord and a tenant is a contractual one. Parties to a lease come together to make a contract agreeing on privileges/ rights and responsibilities, which are called covenants. There are three types of covenants: expressed, implied and statutorily implied. There are general covenants that apply to a tenant, namely:
- To pay rent;
- To use the premises in a tenant like manner; and
- to refrain from committing waste (the Tenant should not wilfully or recklessly damage the rental property).
A tenant’s rights are also linked to the landlord’s obligations. A breach of a covenant may result in the termination of the rental agreement and/or the initiation of legal proceedings. Given that a tenant is afforded certain protections, it is illegal for a landlord to arbitrarily disconnect utilities, such as electricity or water connections. The act of disconnecting such utilities amounts to a violation of the implied covenant of “quiet enjoyment” of the rented property. It can also amount to a breach of the landlord’s obligation to provide a habitable and fit premises which meets the minimum health and safety standards, including functional water and electricity access. A tenant may initiate legal action against a landlord for breaching a covenant such as the right to “quiet enjoyment”.
Submitted by: Rolana Cuffy-Bernard Legal Officer I
Civil Legal Department
Legal Aid and Advisory Authority
23 Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain.
Contact: 638-5222
Email: info@laaa.gov.tt
Website: www.laaa.org.tt
This article is not legal advice. Consult an Attorney-at-law for legal issues