Opinion ID: 1864539
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: common-law abandonment

Text: An abandonment of leased premises by the tenant constitutes an offer to terminate the lease, and an abandonment or surrender of the leased premises, together with an acceptance by the landlord ... may constitute a surrender by operation of law. 51C C.J.S., Landlord and Tenant, § 125(1), p. 398. ... whether there has been an acceptance by the landlord of the tenant's abandonment of the premises is largely a matter of intention, and such an acceptance may be inferred from the acts of the landlord inconsistent with the continuance of the lease. 51C C.J.S., Landlord and Tenant, § 125(4), p. 402. Waite Lumber Co., Inc. v. Masid Bros., Inc., 189 Neb. 10, 21, 200 N.W.2d 119, 126 (1972). While acceptance of a tenant's abandonment was an issue in Waite Lumber, supra, crucial in the present case are, first, whether Mason abandoned the premises and, second, whether Schumachers accepted Mason's abandonment. Before enactment of URLTA, a landlord's self-help repossession of leased premises which the landlord believed to be abandoned, was considered under a rule of good faith by the landlord. Where the tenant has actually abandoned the premises, the landlord is entitled to reenter and take charge and possession; and, even where he acts too hastily, but in good faith and under circumstances justifying a belief that the premises have been abandoned, he is guilty only of a technical violation of the tenant's contractual rights under the lease. Mathiesen v. Bloomfield, 184 Neb. 873, 875, 173 N.W.2d 29, 30 (1969); Langemeier, Inc. v. Pendgraft, 178 Neb. 250, 132 N.W.2d 880 (1965). In Mathiesen and Langemeier however, the court found an actual abandonment by the tenant and therefore did not apply the good faith rule to the landlord's repossession of the premises. With the enactment of URLTA, the continued vitality of Mathiesen and Langemeier may be questionable inasmuch as URLTA affords no protection to a landlord for a good faith ouster of a tenant. Abandonment of leased premises occurs when a tenant, with the intention to terminate contractual rights to exclusive possession and control over leased premises, voluntarily relinquishes or vacates the leased premises. See, Davis v. Odell, 240 Kan. 261, 729 P.2d 1117 (1986); Clark v. Morris, 710 P.2d 1130 (Colo.App.1985); Smith v. Hegg, 88 S.D. 29, 214 N.W.2d 789 (1974). A tenant's intention to terminate the leasehold and abandon the premises may be circumstantially evidenced by conduct inconsistent with continued control over the leased premises. In determining whether a tenant had abandoned the leased dwelling unit or residence, the Supreme Court of Kansas, in Davis v. Odell, supra , construed the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act of Kansas, which did not contain a provision similar to § 76-1432(3) pertaining to abandonment resulting from a tenant's absence from the premises for a specified time. The court in Davis approvingly quoted from Botkin v. Kickapoo, Inc., 211 Kan. 107, 505 P.2d 749 (1973), which was decided under common-law principles before the enactment of the Kansas landlord-tenant act: Generally, abandonment is the act of intentionally relinquishing a known right absolutely and without reference to any particular person or for any particular purpose. Abandoned property is that to which the owner has voluntarily relinquished all right, title, claim and possession, with the intention of terminating his ownership, but without vesting it in any other person and with the intention of not reclaiming future possession or resuming its ownership, possession or enjoyment. In order to establish an abandonment of property, actual relinquishment accompanied by intention to abandon must be shown. The primary elements are the intention to abandon and the external act by which that intention is carried into effect. Although an abandonment may arise from a single act or from a series of acts the intent to abandon and the act of abandonment must conjoin and operate together, or in the very nature of things there can be no abandonment. The intention to abandon is considered the first and paramount inquiry, and actual intent to abandon must be shown; it is not enough that the owner's acts give reasonable cause to others to believe that the property has been abandoned. Mere relinquishment of the possession of a thing is not an abandonment in a legal sense, for such an act is not wholly inconsistent with the idea of continuing ownership; the act of abandonment must be an overt act or some failure to act which carries the implication that the owner neither claims nor retains any interest in the subject matter of the abandonment. It is not necessary to prove intention to abandon by express declarations or by other direct evidence; intent to abandon property or rights in property is to be determined from all the surrounding facts and circumstances. It may be inferred from the acts and conduct of the owner and from the nature and situation of the property. Mere nonuse of property, lapse of time without claiming or using property, or the temporary absence of the owner, unaccompanied by any other evidence showing intention, generally, are [sic] not enough to constitute an abandonment. However, such facts are competent evidence of an intent to abandon and as such are entitled to weight when considered with other circumstances.... Davis v. Odell, supra at 269, 729 P.2d at 1124. Although there was evidence that Mason had left some of his personal property at the duplex in May, the last period for which Mason paid rent was April. The situation involving Mason's personal property existed contemporaneously with Mason's acquisition of another residence apart from the duplex. Notwithstanding that the articles which Mason left at the duplex had some value, Mason's leaving those items at the duplex, while he lived in another residence, may be viewed by a fact finder as evidence of Mason's intent to cease using the duplex as a residence. Postal service for Mason at the duplex was supposed to be discontinued on May 4. In that setting, one might conclude that Mason had removed enough property from the leased premises so that the duplex no longer served as a dwelling but was nothing more than a storage facility, contrary to the explicit mandate of § 76-1424: Unless otherwise agreed, the tenant shall occupy his dwelling unit only as a dwelling unit. Whether we would arrive at the same conclusion reached by the county court regarding the issue of abandonment, were this appeal a trial de novo on the record, is irrelevant. From our review of the record for error, we cannot conclude that the county court's finding, namely, that Mason had abandoned the leased preises, is clearly erroneous. For that reason, we reverse the district court's judgment, which reversed the county court's judgment on the issue of abandonment, and remand this matter to the district court with direction to affirm the county court's judgment in favor of Schumachers in Mason's action for unlawful ouster from the duplex.