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Landlord Tenant Case Law   

California: New California Landlord/Tenant Law

Connecticut: Tenant Responsibility For Damages * Karen Pio

Michigan: Landlord/Tenant Law in  East Lansing * Bradley A. Wegrzyn

Michigan Update From Rental Property Owners Association of Michigan.

Minnesota: New L/T Law and Updates

Ohio: Harris v. Tigner (1995), 108 Ohio App.3d 152, decided December 29, 1995. This case was brought by the tenant and her daughter against the landlord to recover damages for personal injuries the child sustained as a result of lead paint poisoning.
The Court of Appeals of Cuyahoga County found that the Landlord Tenant Act was appliable, particularly, O.R.C. § 5321.04 which imposes obligations on the landlord to adhere to all applicable housing, building and safety codes and to make all repairs to keep premise in a fit and habitable condition.

Florida House Bill hb0357 146-182-1-5
A bill to be entitled An act relating to homestead exemptions; creating s. 196.1977, F.S.; providing a homestead exemption for certain units of low-income-housing tax-credit developments;

Current Legislation by State FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

INDIANA COURT OF APPEALS January 1997 Should a professional landlord be able to disclaim the implied warranty of habitability in its leases? An Indiana Court of Appeals implied yes, then disclaimed their implication and said: "The question was not presented, and we did not decide in a footnote, whether the implied warranty of habitability can be expressly disclaimed in a residential lease. Accordingly, in order to avoid an extension of our holding beyond its reach, we have withdrawn the last sentence of footnote 3 in the opinion, which shall now read as follows:
We affirm this court's commitment in Breezewood Management to "support the reasonable expectations of the contracting parties whenever possible." Breezewood Management, 411 N.E.2d at 675 n. 2. We agree that "one who, 'with open eyes,' rents a hovel cannot later expect and sue for the Waldorf Astoria."

NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS Filed: 7 November 1995
CHARLOTTE HOUSING AUTHORITY, Plaintiff, v. ROXIEANNE PATTERSON, Defendant. This case arises from a summary ejectment action filed by plaintiff, Charlotte Housing Authority ("CHA"), against defendant, Roxieanne Patterson, who is a long-time resident of Fairview Homes, a public housing development managed by plaintiff. On 12 May 1992, defendant was notified that her lease was being terminated for breach of certain of its provisions.

The California Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that a landlord cannot be sued under product liability for a defectively designed bathtub and overruled a contrary 1985 decision. That case was the first where a state high court applied product liability theories to real estate law by subjecting landlords to strict liability (liability without fault) for injuries to tenants caused by hidden defects in rental housing.
The tenant sued the landlord because he slipped and fell against an untempered glass shower door and was badly cut. The tenant claimed that the landlord was negligent and should be held strictly liable for having a defective product in the property.
The court in 1985 had rejected the landlord's claim that he should not be liable for latent defects unless a known danger had been hidden, or where there was some express duty to repair. The landlord contended that as a purchaser of an existing building, he should not be liable because he had no relationship with the builder.
The court had held that landlords are strictly liable for injuries caused by latent defects existing at the time the tenant rents the premises. The court reasoned that a tenant who rents for a limited period of time is not in a position to inspect for latent defects or to bear the expense of repairs, whereas the landlord is in a much better position to inspect for and repair latent defects.
However, the court in 1995 noted that a landlord might still be strictly liable if he had helped construct the building.

Louisiana is the only state that holds landlords strictl