Also known as: demised premises · leased premises
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The portion of real property that a landlord conveys to a tenant under a lease for a term of years. The tenant receives exclusive possession of the premises demised subject only to the terms of the lease and any retained rights of the landlord.
Pierre Poulin leased a retail space to Paul Peterson under a covenant requiring the tenant to maintain and keep the interior in good order. After three years the flooring showed ordinary wear, the ceiling tiles cracked, and seating fabric tore. Because the lease contained no exclusion for ordinary wear and tear, Paul Peterson remained responsible for all repairs to the premises demised.
Penelope Price leased a warehouse to Pablo Perez with a covenant to maintain the premises demised and to surrender them in the same condition as at the start of the term. A fire destroyed the building through no fault of either party. Absent express language requiring reconstruction after casualty, Pablo Perez owed no duty to rebuild the premises demised.
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Patricia Patel leased a public bus terminal containing a known pothole in the loading apron to Progressive Healthcare. The company opened the facility to riders without repair. A passenger fell and was injured. Because the premises demised were leased for public admission and the defect existed at delivery, the landlord remained liable to the injured member of the public.
Patriot Insurance leased office space to Prism Analytics under a month-to-month tenancy. Prism Analytics attempted to assign its interest in the premises demised to Pioneer Energy without consent. Because the tenancy was terminable at will, the attempted assignment was ineffective and Prism Analytics remained bound by the original lease.
Priya Prasad leased warehouse bays to Pablo Perez. The lease required landlord consent to any assignment of the premises demised. When Pablo Perez sought to assign to Patricia Patel, Priya Prasad withheld consent without a commercially reasonable objection. The withholding was improper and the assignment became effective.
Paul Peterson leased a single bay in a multi-tenant warehouse from Penelope Price. The lease gave the landlord exclusive control over the central freight elevator serving all bays. After repeated complaints about the elevator, a tenant's employee was injured when it failed. Because the elevator was outside the premises demised, the landlord owed and breached a duty to maintain it safely.
A landlord owes no general duty to maintain the premises demised once possession transfers to the tenant. Liability for dangerous conditions arises only when the landlord retains control over common areas necessary to the tenant's use or leases property for public admission with a known preexisting defect.
Supporting sources
A covenant to maintain or surrender the premises demised in good condition does not obligate the tenant to rebuild structures destroyed by fire or casualty unless the lease expressly imposes that duty.
Supporting sources
A landlord remains liable for a dangerous condition inside the premises demised when the property is leased for public use, the landlord knew or should have known of the risk at delivery, and the landlord had reason to expect the tenant would admit the public before repair.
Supporting sources
…(1960) 181 Cal. App.2d 289 [5 Cal. Rptr. 263], the court adopted the majority rule: " [W]here a subletting or assignment of the leased premises without the consent of the lessor is prohibited, he may withhold his assent arbitrarily and without regard to the qualifications of the proposed assignee, unless ... the lease provides that…