A Landlord Breach Explained
A breach of a rental agreement by a landlord occurs when the landlord fails or refuses to perform a duty or obligation that is a part of the lease. Breaches of a rental agreement must be actual violations of the rental agreement and cannot be based on a perceived or anticipated breach. Some types of breaches are more common and more important than others. In general, a landlord’s legal duty is to maintain the premises in a properly maintained, habitable condition. Therefore, a renter’s best response to violations will be to pursue a claim for uninhabitable premises . A landlord cannot enter those portions of the premises as to which the tenant has retained the right to exclusive possession. In other words, a landlord cannot enter your apartment or home without your consent unless a statute or the rental agreement specifically allows it. A landlord’s interference with your right to possession is an illegal eviction. This may result from the actual physical removal of a tenant from the rental premises, or by the landlord changing the locks of a rental unit while the tenant is absent.
How a Tenant Can Protect Their Rights
If you have decided to take legal action against your landlord because of a breach of the rental contract, you have several legal rights that are important during this process. A tenant is legally entitled to a safe and habitable environment as one of the legal rent agreement rights. Your rights also cover your possession of the property as long as your contract obligations are fulfilled and these also give you privacy rights. Additionally, you have the right to services including pest management, the right to bring a lawsuit against the landlord, the right to abandon the premises when there are violations that make the place unlivable and the right to receive repairs from the landlord. These are all rights given to tenants because the state wants to maintain the safety and health of its citizens living in rented properties.
What to Do if Your Landlord Breaches the Agreement
For the tenant who believes that their landlord has breached the rental agreement or lease, there are several steps worth considering. This listing is only intended to organize the most common steps in a logical order.
- Contact your landlord and let them know of the issue. A phone call is often best and typically preferable to texting. You might be surprised at how open a receiving party is to a friendly "hey I want to bring something to your attention" type of approach. Yet even if they respond negatively, one advantage to doing so is that you have preserved your notice to them and, to a lesser extent, further developed the witness list of both parties. In other words, don’t be mean and don’t send someone else to do your dirty work. No matter how angry you are, speaking for yourself goes a long way.
- Record the spoken statements for your protection if your landlord delivers a timely bad response, not to mention if they respond by stopping payment for rent, or worse, sending over a crew of people to remove you or start work on the property to make you leave.
- Try writing a non-heated follow up email or text. If you made good notes during the conversation and/or were clever enough to tape the conversation you should have enough information to run down the list of problems they’ve created for you since you’ve been there, keeping in mind that any confrontation should likely happen after business hours or on a weekend if at all. The goal is to maintain a better relationship than may have otherwise prevented a confrontation. Not to mention that in a confrontation, even those with a definite right can seem to be the bad guy.
- After taking these steps you have built your case, and you should feel safe to consult with an attorney. If it seems an attorney is unavoidable before the next rent due date or your landlord is being particularly aggressive about whatever threats they’re making, it may still be best to move to your new home while preserving documentation about what your landlord has done to you that could help you in litigation if necessary. Of course, if they give you an unlawful "notice to vacate" or take any action that would be illegal at the time they did them, you should seek assistance from an attorney immediately, because this is your opportunity to stand up to them with the support of someone who knows the law better than they do.
- Writing a letter as mentioned earlier is another potentially tactful tool to show your landlord that the days of bruises are over. The best time to acquire this sort of legal tool would be in step 4 of the above section, When tenants take photos of every stain, crack, stain or loose switchplate, the landlord will eventually yield to the fact that the best route for them to take is to fix the problem or leave you in peace, with a clean and attentive landlord to boot without even the transient distraction of litigation distracting them from their business.
Possible Remedies and Damages
When a landlord has breached a rental agreement, the following remedies are available to tenants:
- Rent reduction – tenants may be entitled to a rent reduction commensurate with the extent of the landlord’s breach of the rental agreement; for example, if a landlord was late in making repairs , the tenant may deserve a rent discount until the repairs are made.
- Reimbursement for repairs – if the tenant is forced to make repairs themselves because the landlord will not make them, the tenant can seek reimbursement for the cost of the repairs.
- Lease termination – a landlord breach of a one-year lease usually entitles the tenant to terminate the lease early without penalty.
How to Prevent Problems with Your Landlord
If you are a tenant in Maryland and wish to avoid disputes with your landlord, there are some precautions you should take. First and foremost, you should maintain good communication with your landlord at all times. Secondly, you should know your rights as a tenant and be familiar with the terms and conditions of your lease agreement. Third, always document every interaction with your landlord with your own notes and/or correspondence (such as emails). Remember that if a dispute does occur, having a strong document trail will help you immensely moving forward.
If your landlord is not being responsive or is acting inappropriately, you should document everything to give you strength in dealing with the situation. It is also a good idea to consult an attorney who practices Maryland landlord-tenant law.
Why You Should Hire an Attorney
If a landlord breaching a rental agreement is holding up your right to receive the property that you rented, it is imperative that you seek legal assistance from a skilled real estate attorney with experience in handling these cases. Unfortunately, few landlords will respond immediately to threats of lawsuits or demand letters without time being taken.
Your attorney will be able to speak to the landlord and demand something to be done. If the landlord is unresponsive, they may be forced to file a lawsuit to get compensation for your losses. If they communicate well with you , and you think that they are actually willing to negotiate on any points of contention, you may be able to complete the transaction without having to file a lawsuit.
Many tenants are successful in solving their issues outside of court, but some situations are simply too volatile and unable to be negotiated. These situations may require a lawsuit; your attorney will be able to assess the best possible solution to the breach of contract. While your agreement is in writing, you will still need to act quickly to repair the damage from the breach, as the solution may be time sensitive.