Opinion ID: 1316270
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mutual Dependency of Covenants

Text: A lease under real property law was viewed as a conveyance for a term, and its covenants were not mutually dependent. Under such an interpretation, the duty to pay rent was not dependent upon the landlord's compliance with the terms of the lease. Thus, even if a landlord agreed in the lease to keep the premises in good repair, his failure to do so would not relieve the tenant of his independent duty to pay rent. But this common law approach arose before the development in contract law of mutually dependent covenants. The authorities agree today that the modern lease is both a conveyance and a contract. [12] Corbin on Contracts, § 686 (1960 ed.); Thompson on Real Property, § 1110 (1959 replacement); Williston on Contracts, § 890 (3rd ed. Jaeger); Lesar, op. cit. supra. The cases adopting the implied warranty have likewise recognized that a residential lease must be treated as a contract. See, e. g., First National Realty Corp., supra, Green v. Superior Court, supra ; Lemle v. Breeden, supra ; Mease v. Fox, supra ; Boston Housing Authority v. Hemingway, supra ; King v. Moorehead, supra ; Marini v. Ireland, supra . Of the many cases that have implied a warranty of habitability into nonagrarian leases, none can be found which hold the implied warranty and the duty to pay rent to be independent. See Restatement (Second) of Property § 5.1 Comment b (1977). Thus, our Legislature along with many American courts has acknowledged that the land is no longer the value sought by an urban tenant. What is sought is a place to live, not an estate in land. As Judge Skelly Wright said in Javins v. First National Realty Corp., 138 U.S.App.D.C. 369, 372-373, 428 F.2d 1071, 1074-75, cert. denied, 400 U.S. 925, 91 S.Ct. 186, 27 L.Ed.2d 185 (1970), a leading case adopting the implied warranty of habitability: When American city dwellers, both rich and poor seek `shelter' today, they seek a well known package of goods and services  a package which includes not merely walls and ceiling, but also adequate heat, light and ventilation, serviceable plumbing facilities, secure windows and doors, proper sanitation, and proper maintenance.. . . In our judgment the trend toward treating leases as contracts is wise and well considered. Additionally, the growth in the number and detail of specific covenants in clauses found in leases regulating the use of the property further attests to their contractual nature. 2 R. Powell, Real Property ¶ 221[1] (1977); Lesar, op. cit. supra. In response to the second certified question, we hold that since a lease of a residential dwelling unit is to be treated and construed as any other contract, the covenant to pay rent and the warranty of habitability are mutually dependent. [13] Franklin v. Pence, 128 W.Va. 353, 36 S.E.2d 505 (1945); Jones v. Kessler, 98 W.Va. 1, 126 S.E. 344 (1925).