Lease Agreement Issues - Assignment Example

Lease Review Lease agreements are a complex issue to deal with, particularly as a tenant. This is because the agreements contain numerous clauses that work in tandem, which when taken alone could prove very complex to understand and follow. These agreements should be the subject of renegotiation for the tenants and landlord. In the lease agreement for this assignment, three clauses within the lease will prove problematic for me if I decide to move into the house. These are the no-pets allowed clause, the unrestricted access by the landlord into the house, indemnity regarding use of premises, the assignability/subletting clause, and the Holdover clause. These clauses will be discussed and possible remedies for change given. One problem that may arise from the lease agreement has to do with the no pets allowed clause. This is because I own a pet that I have owned for a long time and which is a family favourite as it helps an autistic cousin who lives with us. Two types of laws, which would provide a tenant with the right to keep their pets where there is a provision against pets like this exist. One of them is local or municipal law, which holds that provisions against keeping pets are waived if the tenant keeps a pet and the landlord does not enforce the said no pet’s provision in the first 3 months in which the tenant is openly and notoriously keeping the pet in their house (Garner & Frith 38). In addition, local laws and federal laws will also allow a tenant to keep pets even where the landlord has expressly insisted on no pets allowed. Those laws prohibit discrimination against disabled people, mandating the landlord to grant tenants reasonable accommodation that is required for disabled persons to enjoy and use their new home (Garner & Frith 38). These laws should be used to correct the lease agreement to allow me to keep pets where there is opposition even from fellow neighbours who obey their lease agreement. While the landlord may be within his rights, these prohibitions are overridden by superseding laws. Another problem that may arise from the lease agreement is the access to the house by the landlord. While this would not be such a problem in other circumstances, keeping a pet in the house for the first three months to prevent its removal will be compromised by the landlord coming into the house when he wishes. There are very many variables to the in the definition of what reasonable access for the landlord is. What can be considered reasonable will be dependent on each individual circumstance. Standard terms will give the basis on which the correction to the lease agreement will be made (Garner & Frith 49). These terms contend that landlords cannot access the house before 8 in the morning and after 6 in the evening, on public holidays, and on Sundays. Since the pet dog is usually in the house during these periods, the lease agreement can be changed. In addition, it can be corrected by insisting the lease agreement includes a clause that entry can only be granted where the tenant consents, there are issues of safety and health, and where urgent repairs are required during these periods. The lease agreement could also include a clause that does not allow the landlord to interfere with the tenant’s reasonable peace, privacy, or comfort (Garner & Frith 50). This will place a restriction on access the landlord may be entitled to. While the tenant is required by law to allow the landlord some access, this access may at times be in breach of the discussed clause, which the tenant is allowed to refuse. The third problem that arises from the lease agreement entails the clause on indemnity regarding use of premises. The problem could arise where fellow neighbors cause damages or children cause damage to neighbors’ properties together with other children living in the leased property. To ensure that this is corrected in the lease, the indemnity can be changed so that it is in the form of cross-indemnity, rather than just one way from tenant to landlord so as to include other neighbors and their actions in the lease agreement (Garner & Frith 72). In addition, the indemnities need to be limited to third party claims only and not cover claims that pit the tenant and the landlord against one another. The cross indemnities need to cover the indemnifying party that leads to damage or loss to other parties; therefore, it should not be limited only to acts of negligence. It is necessary to change the lease to is the indemnity clause covers claims by a third party that come from the omissions and acts of the indemnifying party, in which case the indemnifying party’s negligence does not have to be included in the lease and should be struck out (Garner & Frith 73). Finally, the lease should be changed so that the indemnities survive the lease term’s expiry. The fourth issue that arises from the lease agreement is the assignability/subletting clause. This may be a problem because I am living with one of my wife’s younger brothers who has been living in my basement and will still sublet my basement to record his music, as he is an upstart Hip Hop music producer. A tenant would not want to be held by the landlord in default if the person subletting the basement sells the production company to another person or if the company is taken over by another company (Morris 138). However, most fundamentally, if the tenant seeks to move out of the house, it will be important to ensure that all the assets in the house can be transferred, including the production material (Morris 138). The landlord could hold up the production company’s acquisition through an attempt to renegotiate as a condition to grant the assignment consent. Therefore, the tenant should consider changing the lease agreement to ask rights to withdraw requests for the landlord’s permission to sublet if the landlord gives notice to exercise his right to cancel the lease. The fifth and final problem that arises from the lease agreement is in the Holdover clause, which contends that if the tenant does not leave the house following the lease’s termination, the tenant will have to pay an equal rate of lease payments to those set out in the paragraph of renewal terms. This may be problematic because, where the lease is for a specified time, there may come a time when the tenant has to move out, and the wife is still working in the town or the new house is not yet ready for them to move in. In this case, it will be prudent to agree with the landlord to change other parts of the lease’s provision, such as the renewal terms (Morris 142). Ordinarily, it would be best if the tenant and the landlord agree, in the lease agreement, to write up a new lease agreement where the tenant wishes to keep their tenancy. Thus, the renewal clause will have to be changed to allow new rental agreements to be drawn up on expiry of the rental agreement (Morris 143). Works Cited Garner, Simon. & Frith, Alexandra. A Practical Approach to Landlord and Tenant, Oxford [England: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. Morris, John. R. Principles of Landlord & Tenant Law. London: Cavendish, 2009. Print. Read More