Question

Lizzy and Devon are not married to each other, but they share the ownership of Elm Street Offices, a commercial building. When they acquired the building, they agreed in writing that if one dies, the other inherits his or her interest. Are Lizzy and Devon concurrent owners? If so, in what type of concurrent ownership are their rights held? If not, how is their ownership classified? Fagin leases an office in the Elm Street building for a one-year term. If Fagin moves out before the end of the term of the lease, what happens to the leased property?

Answer 1

Lizzy and Devon hold the Elm Street Offices building in concurrent ownership as joint ten¬ants. The main distinguish¬ing feature of a joint tenancy is that it in¬cludes a right of sur¬vivor¬ship. This is what Lizzy and Devon provided for them¬selves when they acquired their building, and thus their ownership is not a tenancy in common. Be¬cause they are not married to each other, they cannot be tenants by the en¬tirety or community property owners. As for Fagin’s act, a tenant’s moving out before the end of a lease term with no intent of returning constitutes an abandonment of the premises. In many states, the tenant remains liable for the rent until the end of the term regardless of the existence of other potential tenants. In some jurisdictions, the landlord may be required to mitigate his or her damages, however, by making reasonable efforts to relet the premises. In those jurisdictions, damages may be limited by the amount mitigated, or the amount that could have been mitigated, less the landlord’s reasonable costs.