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Real Property • Landlord-Tenant
PROP#083
Legal Definition
Partial eviction is a breach of quiet enjoyment and occurs where the tenant is physically excluded from part of the leased property. If the landlord is responsible, the tenant is released from his obligation to pay any rent.
If a paramount title holder is responsible, the tenant's rent is apportioned.
If a paramount title holder is responsible, the tenant's rent is apportioned.
Plain English Explanation
Actual eviction is pretty obvious... it's when you had the right to occupy and possess a space, and then someone completely deprives you of that right. Partial eviction, on the other hand, simply means that you are partially deprived of the right to the whole space.
For example, imagine if Amy rented a house from Bob. The house has an attached garage. The lease specifies that Amy is renting the house and the garage. However, a month into Amy's lease, Bob decides to come over and turn the garage into his workshop.
Bob has wrongfully deprived Amy from possessing the garage. Yes, Amy still has exclusive possession of the house, and maybe Amy never even used the garage. But that's not the point. The point is that the lease stated that the garage was Amy's, and yet Bob has now excluded Amy from the garage.
This is partial eviction. Until it is fixed (until Bob stops using it as his workshop), Amy is allowed to stop paying rent without breaching her duty to pay rent.
Note, it need not be as large as a garage. Any act that deprives Amy from enjoying 100% of her leased property is enough to constitute a partial eviction. Even if Bob simply reclaims a closet in the house out of a dozen other closets available to Amy, it is a violation of her quiet enjoyment to have full dominion and possession of her leased property.
For example, imagine if Amy rented a house from Bob. The house has an attached garage. The lease specifies that Amy is renting the house and the garage. However, a month into Amy's lease, Bob decides to come over and turn the garage into his workshop.
Bob has wrongfully deprived Amy from possessing the garage. Yes, Amy still has exclusive possession of the house, and maybe Amy never even used the garage. But that's not the point. The point is that the lease stated that the garage was Amy's, and yet Bob has now excluded Amy from the garage.
This is partial eviction. Until it is fixed (until Bob stops using it as his workshop), Amy is allowed to stop paying rent without breaching her duty to pay rent.
Note, it need not be as large as a garage. Any act that deprives Amy from enjoying 100% of her leased property is enough to constitute a partial eviction. Even if Bob simply reclaims a closet in the house out of a dozen other closets available to Amy, it is a violation of her quiet enjoyment to have full dominion and possession of her leased property.
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