The tenant's own conduct does not release the landlord from it
A worked RES examination question on landlord tenant covenants, from our Paper 1 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
During a tenancy, the landlord takes to letting himself into the leased flat whenever he passes, to check on it and occasionally to show it to prospective buyers, without telling the tenant. The tenant objects. The landlord replies that, since the flat is still his, he may come and go as he likes, and that in any event the tenant sometimes plays loud music that disturbs him.
Which statement is correct?
The answer, and why
Answer: B
The rule. The covenant of quiet enjoyment runs one way: the landlord must not disturb the tenant's possession, and cannot enter the premises as and when he likes. The tenant's own conduct does not release the landlord from it.
Why B is correct. Letting himself in at will breaches the landlord's covenant of quiet enjoyment. The tenant's loud music, whatever else it may be, does not excuse that breach.
The other options.
- A treats the covenant as mutual. It protects the tenant against the landlord, not the other way round.
- C and D treat the tenant's noise as licensing the landlord's entry. The covenant is one-way; the tenant's conduct does not switch it off.
Exam note. Quiet enjoyment binds the landlord, not the tenant. The tenant's misbehaviour is a separate matter, not a defence to the landlord's entry.
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