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Overview — Landlord covenants
Catherine Hallgath, Partner, Mills Oakley Lawyers
A lease will place obligations on both the landlord and the tenant. This section discusses some of the more common obligations placed on a landlord, both by common law and contractually, and also those obligations tenants commonly request a landlord to accept. This section also examines some of the issues and concerns of both the landlord and tenant and potential compromises.
Landlord covenants implied by law
The common law implies terms into the relationship between landlord and tenant. These implied terms can be (and commonly are) altered or removed by the lease.
The two most relevant covenants implied by common law are the landlord’s covenants to provide the tenant with quiet enjoyment of the premises and not to derogate from the grant of lease. This section discusses the extent of each of the implied covenants and provides examples of circumstances that are and are not breaches of each of the covenants.
See Landlord covenants implied by law.
Landlord covenants not implied by law
There are five obligations or covenants that a landlord may agree to comply with, to some extent. These are:
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the requirement to keep premises/building in good repair;
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the obligation to pay rates and taxes on time;
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to maintain a right of access by the tenant to the premises;
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the requirement to act reasonably; and
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the requirement to ensure services operate.
This section identifies the concerns of both the landlord and tenant and contains suggestions as to how to resolve them. See Landlord covenants not implied by law.
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