BUSSN 4-2

       For this milestone, you will review Case Study Two and compose a short report, applying your legal knowledge and understanding of the types of business organizations. Case Study Two concentrates on contracts and landlord-tenant law. For additional details, please refer to the Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric document and the Milestone Two Template in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course

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Ownership of real property seems to be one of the goals of most people in the United States. In this chapter we examine the nature of real property, the types of interests someone can own in real property, and how those interests can be transferred. As the opening scenario implies, transfers can be either voluntary or involuntary.

Suppose you are a manager for a new business. One of your responsibilities is to secure office space for the business. You meet with the business owner to talk about whether you should rent or purchase the office space. If you rent the office space, you will enter into a contractual agreement with the owner such that you will be responsible for paying a specific amount of money for a specific period of time to have temporary possession of a certain space. While this agreement will name a specific piece of property (i.e., provide the street address of the property), the lease is typically an agreement for use of some structure on the property. If you will potentially be renting housing or office space for your business, you should be aware of the laws that govern the landlord-tenant relationship.

   A clear understanding of the language used in the landlord-tenant relationship is essential. The owner of the property is called the landlordThe owner of a property being leased. or the lessorA person who transfers the right to possession and use of goods under a lease.. In contrast, the lesseeA person who acquires the right to possession and use of goods under a lease., or the tenantA person who assumes the temporary legal right to possess property., is the party who assumes temporary ownership of the property. The property in question is called the leasehold estateThe leased property.. The actual agreement between the landlord and the tenant is called the leaseA transfer of the right to possess and use goods for a period of time in return for consideration..

   In the landlord-tenant relationship, the landlord grants the tenant the temporary, exclusive right to occupy and use a specific space for a specific amount of time. In turn, the tenant is obligated to pay rent to the landlord, who retains the title to the land. This entire relationship is usually established in a contractual agreement. Usually, we think of landlord-tenant relationships as private. However, sometimes landlord-tenant relationships are public-private relationships. For example, the City of Orlando is in a relationship with RP Realty Partners, a landlord to tenant Orlando Movie Co., which operates Plaza Cinema Café. The development project is a public-private one, created when the city wanted a downtown movie theater to bring people into the city.

   The landlord-tenant relationship has become more complex in recent years. In 1972, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws created the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), an act that created more uniformity among the state laws governing the landlord-tenant relationship.

   The first part of this chapter explains how the landlord-tenant relationship is created. The next section explains the rights and responsibilities associated with the landlord-tenant relationship. The third section focuses on liability associated with injuries that occur on rental premises. The fourth section considers how landlords and tenants can transfer their interests in the rental property. The final section explains the ways a lease can be terminated.