LANDLORD AND TENANT (ante). The relation of landlord and tenant. may be inferred from the circumstances of the parties as well as created by express contract. The payment of rent is prima facie, but not conclusive evidence of such implied contract, and such contract will arise generally where one person occupies another's lands or tenements by the consent of the owner. We will consider, first, the rights and obligations of the landlord ; secondly, the right and obligations of the tenant. These begin with the date of the lease, unless some other date has been fixed, or, in the absence of a written lease, with the tenant's entrance into possession.
The landlord has a right to-receive the rent, to go upon the premises to collect rent, to prevent waste, and, upon notice given to the tenant, to see if waste has been com mitted. He can maintain an action only for injuries to the reversion, i.e., his estate remaining after the expiration of the lease. The landlord is under obligation to main tain the tenant in possession of the leased premises, i.e., to protect the tenant from being ousted by any person claiming under a title superior to that of the landlord, and not to disturb the tenant's occupation by any act of his own, as, for instance, the crea tion of a nuisance. The landlord is also charged with the obligation, in the absence of express provision to the contrary in the lease. of paying all taxes to which the premises are subject, and of discharging the interest upon such mortgage or mortgages as they may he incumbered with; and in case any liability of this sort which the landlord is chargeable with is satisfied by the tenant for his own protection, he is entitled to repay ment by the landlord, or to withhold the rent to the extent of the liability so assumed. In limitation of the landlord's obligations, it should be said that he is not responsible where the tenant is dispossessed by a person who has no title, or where the tenant's interest is injured by the acts of third persons. Nor is the landlord liable to make repairs, or for expenses incurred by the tenant in making repairs, or to restore the buildings upon the premises when they have been burned The tenant is under obligation to pay rent, and, if he have stipulated to pay a fixed sum for a certain term, lie is not excused by the destruction of the premises, or by any injury to his interest otherwise than by act of the landlord. The tenant must restore the
premises to the landlord at the expiration of the tenancy in as good order as he received them, with allowance for necessary wear and tear. He is liable only for ordinary repairs, such as of fences, doors, windows, etc. The rights and liabilities of a tenant in possession are the same, substantially, as against third persons, as if he were actual owner. A tenancy may be dissolved by the surrender of the lease to the landlord by the tenant, or forfeiture of the lease by a breach of a covenant contained in it, such as the covenant to pay rent, net to commit waste, etc.; in case of a tenancy for life or for years, it is dissolved by the expiration of the term for which it was limited, without giving notice to quit. But such notice, in writing, must be given to a tenant who holds from year to year or at will. At common law six months' notice was required, but in most of the United States much less time is allowed.
Upon the expiration of the tenancy the landlord has a right to re-enter upon the premises, and, in case of the tenant's holding over, may recover possession by the old common-law action of ejectment, which in this country has been largely superseded by summary proceedings under the statutes of the different states. A lease may be either verbal or by deed under seal. By the statute of frauds a lease for a term of over three years must be in writing, and in some states a verbal lease is good for only one year. Any person not under legal disability may make a valid lease, provided the lessor at the time of making the lease have possession of the premises demised. When the landlord permits the tenant to remain upon thie premises after the expiration of the term, a tenancy at will is created, which will be terminated by the landlord's taking rent from another party, or by some act by the landlord and other parties indicating that the rela tion of landlord and tenant exists between them.