Warranty of Habitability | Should Leased Premises be Fit For Purpose?
Warranty of Habitability(US)
An implied condition of a tenancy of residential property that the landlord will ensure that the premises are fit for habitation at the start of the lease and are maintained as such throughout the term. A requirement that the premises are “free from any latent defect or conditions rendering the premises uninhabitable for residential purposes; and … will remain reasonably fit for residential purposes during the entire term, a promise which carries with it an implied duty to repair”, Old Town Development Co. v. Langford, 349 NE.2d 744, 764 (Ind App 1976). (See also pp. 753-64 for ‘Historical Development of Implied Warranty of Habitability’) (Boston Housing Authority v. Hemingway, 363 Mass 184, 293 NE.2d 831, 843-5 (1973). Jablonski v Clemons, 64 Mass App Ct 744, 747, 803 NE.2d 730, 733 (2004)-the court has wide discretion in determining whether the conditions in any given rental unit amount to a material breach of the implied warranty of habitability; Pugh v. Holmes, 384 A.2d 1234 (Pa Super 1978)).
Warranty of habitability at common law
Warranty of habitability at common lawThere is no common law implied covenant that a tenancy of residential property is fit for habitation (Smith v Marrable (1843) 11 M & W 5, 152 Eng Rep 693; Sarson v Roberts [1895] 2 QB 395 (CA); Franklin v. Brown, 118 NY 110, 23 NE 126 (1889); Posnanski v. Hood, 46 Wis.2d 172, 174 NW.2d 528 (1970); Anno: 40 ALR3d 646: Lease-Implied Warranty-Fitness,
