A fixture is any previously movable chattel, or property other than real property, that becomes part of real property due to an attachment between the two. For example, a brick stove built into the wall of a restaurant would be a fixture of...
landlord & tenant
gross lease
Gross lease refers to commercial leases where the tenant pays a set amount periodically for renting the property. This is in contrast with net leases whose prices vary depending on expenses and factors such as the costs of maintenance, taxes...
habitable
A residence that is fit for human occupation and is free of serious defects that might pose a risk to one's health and safety is considered habitable. By law, landlords in each state must offer habitable premises and maintain them. Although...
hold harmless
Hold harmless is defined as a promise in a contract, by one party not to hold the other party responsible if the other party carries out the contract in a way that causes damage to the first party. For example, leases may include a hold...
holding over
Holding over means to continue for a prolonged period of time. In the context of property law, “holding over” is defined as the act of continued occupancy by the tenant of premises past the lease or agreement terms, with or without the...
holdover tenant
Holdover tenant refers to a renter staying in the property after their lease terminates without signing a new lease. In this situation, the landlord may take steps to remove the tenant from the property or bind the tenant to a new lease....
housing court
Housing courts are special courts used by many large cities to deal with disputes between landlords and tenants, cases involving housing code violations, evictions, and similar housing-related cases. Usually, these courts have special,...
implied warranty of habitability
The implied warranty of habitability is the type of implied warranty in residential leases by most jurisdictions. This warranty requires landlords to keep their property "habitable," even if the lease does specifically require them to make...
incidents of ownership
An incident of ownership denotes the possession or retainment of certain rights or benefits over property. This term is often used in life insurance or property disputes. For example, the right to the rent that comes from a mortgaged property is one...
landlady
Landlady is a female owner of the real property, who leases or rents a piece of land to a tenant. Landlady is essentially the same as a landlord, other than the gender. Like landlord, landlady is the owner of the property. However, like landlord, if...