Think Tank

Professor’s Instructions:  Post your thoughts and views on the subject and respond to two of your fellow classmates’ postings as well. I would like to see you add value and offer original insightful posts in your answers. Additionally, when you respond to one of your classmate’s comments, focus in on something they commented that turns their argument upside down or offers further evidence and support for their argument. You can introduce articles, cite precedents distinguish this scenario from similar situations, and discuss policy. Do not just repeat the facts.

First argument to be commented:

The landlord’s ability to enforce the lease on Aron largely depends on the circumstances surrounding the lease. Typically, a lease is a binding contract between the landlord and tenant in which the tenant agrees to give payment to the landlord in exchange for the landlord to allow the tenant to use the space (Chen, 2019). A lease can be assigned to another tenant if the original tenant cannot meet the original terms; however, the original tenant remains liable for maintaining the property (HG.org).

In this case, the landlord communicated to Aron (the tenant) that if he were to assign the lease to a third party, he must receive consent from the landlord. This was made clear before Aron accepted the contract. The lease was intended to hold Aron liable to the apartment, regardless of the circumstances.

Out of the one-year duration of the lease, Aron has performed for 9 out of the 12 months of the year, a significant portion of the lease has been executed. Later, Aron assigns the lease to his close friend Erica. It can be implied that at this point Aron cannot fully provide the remaining payments to the landlord. For the assignment to be justified, Aron has to prove that he has no other source of financial support. Even then, Aron must abide by the original terms and receive consent from the landlord to execute the assignment to Erica, which they have denied. By doing this, the landlord has made clear that they have no intention of creating a sub-lease or transferring the property rights to Erica.

In terms of the assignment, Aron does not make clear that he has intentions to move out of the apartment. The assignment intended to ensure that he would have a financial source to provide the payments. Regardless of the assignment, Aron remains liable for maintaining the property and securing the payments to the landlord, regardless of who provides those payments (HG.org). By refusing to comply with the terms, the landlord may be able to file suit against Aron for breach of contract.

References:

Chen, James (2019, September 9). Lease. Investopedia. Dotdash.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lease.asp (Links to an external site.)

What Is an Assignment of Leases and How Can a Real Estate Lawyer Help? (n.d.). HG.org Legal Resources.

https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/what-is-an-assignment-of-leases-and-how-can-a-real-estate-lawyer-help-43717

Second argument to be commented:

The lease agreement is an arrangement made between two parties that allows one of those parties to use an asset belonging to the owner. (Team, 2015)   first. In this case, Aron and the landlord signed the contract for a one-year lease agreement from  September 1 to August 31. Also, the lease specifies that the lease cannot be assigned without the landlord’s consent. So, this is a bilateral contract, a type of contract that arises when a promise is given in exchange for a return promise. (Nature and Classification, 2019)

Second, the landlord has the right to know how many people are living in the rental unit and who is living it. This information is essential to ensuring the  Minimum Housing and Health Standards (Links to an external site.)  are met, and that both landlords and tenants can exercise their rights if either breach their legal obligations. (FAQ – Does everyone who is living in the property have to be named on the lease?, 2019) in this case, the Aron is the person in the contract, but Erica. Also, the landlord only knows Aron, who is the one who will live in the apartment. 

Therefore, Aron is subject to all of the rights and obligations of a tenant under the Residental Tenancies Act.

Third, Aron leased his apartment to Erica for three months without Landlord permission, so Aron breached the contract as the initial contract, which pointed out that lease cannot be assigned without the landlord’s consent; Moreover, Aron leases the apartment to Erica in May which is less than one year.  Therefore, under the Residential Tenancies Act, the landlord has the right to require Eric to vacate the property.

References

FAQ – Does everyone who is living in the property have to be named on the lease? (2019, Dember). Retrieved from A Website of The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta: https://www.landlordandtenant.org/leases-and-agreements/does-everyone-have-to-on-the-lease/

Nature and Classification. (2019). In R. L. Miller, Business Law Today (p. 263). Texas: United States of America.

Team, C. (2015, December 15). Lease agreement. Retrieved from Legal dictionary: https://legaldictionary.net/lease-agreement/