[Real Property] 3.Joseph Marini v. Alice Ireland

[Yunjeong]

Joseph Marini v. Alice Ireland (Supr.Ct. of NJ, 1970) --- 56 N.J. 130, 265 A.2d 526

Facts

After the tenant (defendant) moved into an apartment, the toilet was broken and water was continuously leaking onto the floor. She tried to reach out to the landlord (plaintiff) but he never answered. Without any option, she called the plumber and paid for the cost. She, then, sent a check to the plaintiff with the amount of repair deducted. The plaintiff instituted this suit arguing he is not entitled to repair therefore she cannot offset the cost at her will.

Issue

May the tenant offset the cost of repairing the broken toilet from the rent as granted in implied warranty of habitability when she tried to reach out the landlord but failed?

Rules

Hyland v. Parkside Investment Co., Inc., 10 N.J. Misc. 1148 (Sup. Ct. 1932)

In a modern setting, the landlord should, in residential letting, be held to an implied covenant against latent defects, which is another manner of saying, habitability and livability fitness.

Application

The plaintiff argued that he has no duty to make repairs. The defendant claimed such necessary repair costs should be offset. The court looked into the words in Hyland v. Parkside Investment Co., Inc., that a tenant must be provided a residence with habitability and livability fitness and the landlord is responsible for such an environment. If a tenant faces a situation of an inhabitable facility and unable to contact the landlord, the person can self-help for necessary repairs. Here, a toilet is essentially related to a residence’s habitability and essential part of implied covenant. Nobody would maintain a habitable life within a house without a well-working toilet. Therefore, the broken toilet is within the reasonable repair that the landlord is responsible for.

Holding

Yes, the tenant may offset the cost.

Conclusion

Reversed and remanded.

Feedback and notes

This case is about habitability which we might well face in the near future as we begin living in the states. As an extension of the case, we are assigned to research rules and examples of lease a state of our choice. I researched the case in New York.

Relevant Statutes

General Obligations Law § 5-702; NY C.P.L.R. § 4544
Lease Provisions
 Leases must use words with common and everyday meanings and must be clear and coherent. Sections of leases must be appropriately captioned and the print must be large enough to be read easily.
 
Real Property Law § 235-b
The following lease provisions are not allowed … Waiving the Warranty of Habitability

The New York statute guarantees tenant friendly lease agreement. Warranty of habitability is not waivable through an agreement. It can be assumed that a tenant situated like in Joseph Marini case well be protected in New York even if the provision specifically waived such right- statute prevails over private contracts.

Common law rule

Poyck v. Bryant - secondhand smoke habitability case
A tenant who suffers from secondhand smoke could be protected under the implied warranty of habitability where the conditions could endanger or detriment to the tenant’s life, health, or safety.   

I've looked up a number of cases and decided to choose the case above as it seems most informative and useful where the situation could commonly happen anywhere. In this case, the tenants were suffering from heavy secondhand smoke from their neighbors in the apartment. Despite continuous complaining to the landlord, no appropriate steps had been taken. The tenants decided to move out and the landlord sued them to collect unpaid rents. New York City Civil Court recognized that any conditions that would endanger or detriment to the tenant’s life, health or safety is protected under implied warranty of habitability. Secondhand smoke seems to be a latent danger which might have deleterious impact on the tenant’s health. From this case, we would be able to stretch our analysis of other similarly situated cases. I’ve pictured that the extreme noise that sometimes developed into unfortunate murder cases in Korea could be one of the circumstances of “endangering or detrimental to their life” especially when the neighbor upstairs maliciously make noise to torture the neighbor in downstairs. 

New York lease agreement sample

New York Residential Lease Agreement
          THIS LEASE AGREEMENT (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement") made and entered into this ____________ day of ____________________________, 20____, by and between _____________________________________________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as "Landlord") and _____________________________________________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as "Tenant").  
WITNESSETH :             
WHEREAS, Landlord is the fee owner of certain real property being, lying and situated in _______________ County, New York, such real property having a street address of ______________________________________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as the "Premises").  
            WHEREAS, Landlord is desirous of leasing the Premises to Tenant upon the terms and conditions as contained herein; and            
            WHEREAS, Tenant is desirous of leasing the Premises from Landlord on the terms and conditions as contained herein;                     
            NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the sum of TEN DOLLARS ($10.00), the covenants and obligations contained herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows: 
1.       TERM.  Landlord leases to Tenant and Tenant leases from Landlord the above described Premises together with any and all appurtenances thereto, for a term of __________________ [specify number of months or years], such term beginning on __________________, and ending at 12 o'clock midnight on ______________________. 
2.       RENT.  The total rent for the term hereof is the sum of ______________________________________________________________ DOLLARS ($____________) payable on the ______ day of each month of the term, in equal installments of ______________________________________________________________ DOLLARS ($_____________) first and last installments to be paid upon the due execution of this Agreement, the second installment to be paid on _______________________.  All such payments shall be made to Landlord at Landlord's address as set forth in the preamble to this Agreement on or before the due date and without demand.
3.       DAMAGE DEPOSIT.  Upon the due execution of this Agreement, Tenant shall deposit with Landlord the sum of ______________________________________________________________ DOLLARS ($________) receipt of which is hereby acknowledged by Landlord, as security for any damage caused to the Premises during the term hereof.  Such deposit shall be returned to Tenant, without interest, and less any set off for damages to the Premises upon the termination of this Agreement.
4.       USE OF PREMISES.  The Premises shall be used and occupied by Tenant and Tenant's immediate family, consisting of ______________________  __________________________  ____________, exclusively, as a private single family dwelling, and no part of the Premises shall be used at any time during the term of this Agreement by Tenant for the purpose of carrying on any business, profession, or trade of any kind, or for any purpose other than as a private single family dwelling.  Tenant shall not allow any other person, other than Tenant's immediate family or transient relatives and friends who are guests of Tenant, to use or occupy the Premises without first obtaining Landlord's written consent to such use.   Tenant shall comply with any and all laws, ordinances, rules and orders of any and all governmental or quasi-governmental authorities affecting the cleanliness, use, occupancy and preservation of the Premises.
5.       CONDITION OF PREMISES.  Tenant stipulates, represents and warrants that Tenant has examined the Premises, and that they are at the time of this Lease in good order, repair, and in a safe, clean and tenantable condition. 
6.       ASSIGNMENT AND SUB-LETTING.  Tenant shall not assign this Agreement, or sub-let or grant any license to use the Premises or any part thereof without the prior written consent of Landlord.  A consent by Landlord to one such assignment, sub-letting or license shall not be deemed to be a consent to any subsequent assignment, sub-letting or license.  An assignment, sub-letting or license without the prior written consent of Landlord or an assignment or sub-letting by operation of law shall be absolutely null and void and shall, at Landlord's option, terminate this Agreement.
7.       ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS.  Tenant shall make no alterations to the buildings or improvements on the Premises or construct any building or make any other improvements on the Premises without the prior written consent of Landlord.  Any and all alterations, changes, and/or improvements built, constructed or placed on the Premises by Tenant shall, unless otherwise provided by written agreement between Landlord and Tenant, be and become the property of Landlord and remain on the Premises at the expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement.
…
As to Landlord this ______ day of ________________________, 20_____. 
LANDLORD:


Sign: ___________________________________ Print: _________________________________ Date: ______________
 
As to Tenant, this ______ day of ________________________, 20_____. 
TENANT ("Tenant"):


Sign: ___________________________________ Print: __________________________________ Date: ______________

New York Residential Tenants’ Rights Guide.pdf

7.60MB

New York Residential Lease Agreement Form.doc

60.00KB