Tenant Can't Claim Constructive Eviction

Facts: A tenant signed a lease for space that had a history of flooding problems. During the owner's tenure, it repaired any and all damage that resulted from flooding. Approximately five years into the lease, the owner sold the property, but signed an agreement with the new owner that made it responsible for flood damage repairs.

After several incidences of flooding, the tenant sent the owner a letter stating that if the flooding problem was not cured to satisfaction within a specified time, the failure would constitute a breach of the lease and the tenant would exercise its lease termination rights.

A few months later, the premises flooded again, and the tenant sent a letter to the owner informing it that the damage had made the space uninhabitable. As a result, the tenant argued that it had been “constructively evicted” and would be exercising its option to terminate the lease. However, the tenant remained in the space, made repairs, and deducted the repair costs from the rent. The owner sued for unpaid rent, arguing that the tenant did not satisfy the elements necessary to claim constructive eviction.

Decision: A Connecticut district court ruled in favor of the owner.

Reasoning: The court explained that a tenant that claims constructive eviction must satisfy the following elements: (1) it must prove that the owner's breach rendered the space uninhabitable; (2) it must vacate the premises; and (3) it must prove that it did not vacate the premises until after giving the owner a reasonable opportunity to correct the problem.

In this case, the tenant clearly did not satisfy the elements necessary to claim constructive eviction, so it had no right to terminate the lease and offset repair costs.

• One Hundred Norwalk, LLC v. Trilegiant Corp, December 2008