Explore the legal rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord

HINT: See Chapters 29 and 30 of the text to help understand some of the legal issues covered in this assignment.

Larry Landlord has recently renovated an apartment and has put it on  the market to be rented for $800.00 a month. Larry Landlord has been in  business for approximately five (5) years and has had both positive and  negative experiences with tenants. Larry Landlord is hoping to find a  good, long-term tenant for his apartment. Roger Renter saw Larry’s sign  for the apartment for rent and thought the location and the apartment  would be perfect. Roger met Larry to look at the apartment and Roger  fell in love with it. All of the interior fixtures had been replaced and  the unit had a nice large closet. Roger noticed that although newly  painted, the exterior of the apartment did show a little bit of wear.  Because of the condition of the exterior of the building, Roger asked  Larry about any roof leaks. Larry stated that he had never had a leak  and was not aware of any leaks.

Roger and Larry entered into a valid contract for the rental of the  apartment. (Note: The issue of whether or not a contract exists is NOT  part of this question. For purposes of this question assume the contract  is valid and there are no issues with the contract.)

Roger Renter was very happy in his new location; the apartment was  quiet and the neighbors were friendly. Larry Landlord was also very  happy because Roger Renter was a model tenant. Roger Renter paid on time  and was quiet and respectful to other tenants.

The part of the country where Roger rented was rainy in the  summertime. Roger rented and moved into the apartment in October. In  June, a tremendous rainstorm occurred and Roger’s roof began to leak.  The leak was minor at first and Roger merely put a trash can under the  leak and had no other issues that month. When handing over his monthly  rent check, Roger told Larry about the small leak. Larry thanked Roger  for letting him know about the leak and told Roger he would have it  fixed.

The next month the rains came again and the leak grew larger in  Roger’s apartment. Roger was not home at the time of the rain and  therefore the leak damaged some of Roger’s furniture. Roger called Larry  to let him know that there was a leak and asked when it might be fixed.  Roger also stated that he thought Larry had fixed the roof. Larry  curtly stated, “When it rains, sometimes it pours. When it pours,  sometimes it leaks.” Roger did not like Larry’s tone or response and  called back to ask when the roof might be fixed. Larry stated, “When I  get to it.” The following day, Roger sent Larry a note about the roof  leak and asked Larry to please address the issue.

The week before the rent was due, another rainstorm occurred and the  leak was even larger. This time the leak damaged Roger’s clothing,  furniture, and some precious items he had inherited from family members.  Roger called Larry and asked Larry to fix roof immediately. Larry  responded in a similar and condescending manner. Roger hung up the phone  and threw his baseball bat against the wall, damaging the drywall and  knocking out an electrical socket.

Since it was the rainy season, Roger knew it would rain again and  therefore simply moved his items away from the leak and did nothing to  help mitigate the damage from the leaking roof.

Larry came into the apartment to investigate the leak and found  damage from not only the leak but also from the thrown baseball bat.  Roger states that the baseball bat damage was a direct result of Larry’s  inability to fix the leak based on his anger from Larry’s curt  response.

Suppose you are a mediator. In five to seven (5-7) pages discuss the  rights and responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant in which you:

1. Explore the legal rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord.
2. Decide whether or not the landlord and / or the tenant had a legal duty to mitigate damages.
3. Determine whether or not Larry has legal grounds to evict Roger. Explain why or why not.
4. Describe whether or not Roger has a legal obligation to pay for the  damage he caused and determine whether or not Larry would be liable for  any direct damage.
5. Support each response with facts presented in the scenario.
6. Use proper legal terminology throughout your responses.
7. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as quality academic resources.
8. Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
   • Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
   • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the  student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date.  The cover page is not included in the required page length.
   • Include a reference page. Citations and references must follow APA  format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic /  organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the  following rubric.