Question

Aston, a tenant in Jackie's apartment, had repeatedly complained about the leaky faucets in the apartment. However, Jackie was not interested in doing anything about it. Under the landlord and tenant law, what remedies did Aston have?

a. To terminate the lease, then seek damages or rent adjustment.
b. To seek constructive eviction.
c. To obtain a court order for quiet enjoyment.
d. To obtain the doctrine of caveat emptor under the common law.
e. None, because she was on a periodical tenancy.

Answer 1

a. To terminate the lease, then seek damages or rent adjustment.

Step-by-step explanation:

when a landlord breaches his/her duties, the tenant has three available remedies:

1. termination
2. damages
3. rent adjustment

Generally when things like this happen, the tenant will terminate the contract and in order to do so must leave the premises and notify the landlord that he/she is doing so and the reasons why. Then the tenant can seek compensation for damages caused by the landlord's breach of duties. Damages are generally limited to relocation costs, e.g. costs of finding a new apartment and moving there.

If Aston decided to stay at the apartment, he could seek to fix the plumbing issues and seek compensation from the landlord.

Out of the possible options, option a is correct.