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Real Property • Landlord-Tenant
PROP#067
Legal Definition
Covenants in a lease are generally independent, meaning if one party breaches a covenant, the other party can recover damages but must continue to perform under the lease and cannot terminate the relationship. However, the landlord can typically terminate a lease where the tenant fails to pay rent.
Plain English Explanation
When agreeing to a lease, landlords and tenants may include various covenants (legal promises) as a part of the lease. Breaking a covenant does not mean you have broken the lease. In other words, covenants act as independent contracts. The only covenant that can terminate a lease if broken is a covenant to pay rent.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob owns Blackacre. Blackacre is a small cottage surrounded by an acre of grassland. Amy wants to rent Blackacre in order to relax and focus on her yoga. Amy signs a 6 month lease to rent Blackacre that includes a covenant requiring Bob to mow the grassland once per week. A month into the lease, Bob has failed to cut the grass and it is starting to look really ugly. It is affecting Amy's relaxation and she no longer wants to stay there. Result: Too bad, Amy -- you have to stay there. The fact that Bob has breached his covenant to cut the grass doesn't terminate the lease. However, it does allow Amy to seek damages. For example, if Amy paid Carl a reasonable amount of money to mow the grass, Amy could then sue Bob to recover the cost of enforcing his covenant.
Visual Aids
Related Concepts
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