Lease

QUESTION 10: LEASEHOLD INTERESTS (TOTAL 10 MARKS)

Hilda, with the consent of her Landlord, verbally agreed to lease June’s furnished apartment from her for the months of May through to August, while June would be in another city attending a university summer program. Under the agreement, Hilda would pay the rental payments to the landlord at the beginning of each month and “take good care of the apartment” in June’s absence. Hilda was expected to vacate the apartment on August 30.

Hilda moved into the apartment on May 1 and lived in it until July 30, when she found a new apartment located closer to her place of employment. On July 30, she permitted several of her friends to move into June’s apartment on the condition that they pay the August rent and vacate before the end of the month, when June was expected to return to the city.

The new tenants did not pay the rent as they had agreed to do. On August 25 they held a party at the apartment that resulted in $1,000 damage to the premises and $800 damage to June’s furniture. The new tenants vacated the apartment the next day, leaving no forwarding address.

When June returned to the city on August 31, she discovered her apartment in ruins. A few days later, she received a notice from her landlord demanding the overdue rent for the month of August.

Explain the concept of a sublet and explain how it differs from an assignment of the lease and advise June of her rights and outline a course of action for her to follow.

ANS : A special form of tenancy arises when a tenant enters into a lease with another for a term that is less than the tenancy that the tenant holds. The lease creating sub tenancy is called

A sublease. For example, a person sign a lease for 5 years, but after a year he has to move away for job. In that case a person can sublet the lease to another person. Assignment of landlord