Opinion ID: 1939457
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Heading: Negligence and the Implied Warranty of Habitability

Text: The basic elements of a cause of action in negligence are the existence of a duty, breach of that duty, a causal relationship between the breach and the injury complained of, and actual loss or damage. E.g., Casey v. Geiger, 346 Pa.Super. 279, 499 A.2d 606, allocatur denied 516 Pa. 638, 533 A.2d 710 (1985). Although these basic principles apply in landlord tenant disputes, the duty of care imposed upon landlords varies depending on who claims to have been injured and the terms of the lease. For example, a landlord who rents an entire building to a tenant may be held to a lower standard of care than a landlord who rents part of a building and maintains control over the remaining parts. Compare Restatement (Second) of Torts § 358 with id. § 361 (1977). The implied warranty of habitability is a relatively recent development in the law of torts. In Pennsylvania, the theory was first adopted with regard to residential leases in Pugh v. Holmes, 486 Pa. 272, 405 A.2d 897 (1979). The Pugh court stated the elements of the warranty of habitability as follows: The implied warranty is designed to insure that a landlord will provide facilities and services vital to the life, health, and safety of the tenant and to the use of the premises for residential purposes. This warranty is applicable both at the beginning of the lease and throughout its duration.. . . In order to constitute a breach of the warranty the defect must be of a nature and kind which will prevent the use of the dwelling for its intended purpose to provide premises fit for habitation by its dwellers. At a minimum, this means the premises must be safe and sanitary.. . . Additionally . . . to assert a breach of the implied warranty of habitability, a tenant must prove he or she gave notice to the landlord of the defect or condition, that he [the landlord] had a reasonable opportunity to make the necessary repairs, and that he failed to do so. Id., 486 Pa. at 289-90, 405 A.2d at 905-06 (citations omitted). See also Rivera v. Selfon Home Repairs & Imp. Co., 294 Pa.Super. 41, 439 A.2d 739 (1982); Restatement (Second) of Property § 17.6 (1977). Cases in which landlord negligence is alleged are likely to involve potential violations of the broader standard of care required by the warranty of habitability. However, it is important to remember that negligence and the implied warranty of habitability are two different causes of action with distinct elements. As Judge Wieand has noted: A breach of a landlord's obligation to provide safe and habitable premises gives rise . . . to potential liability under two alternative and separate theories: breach of an implied warranty of habitability and/or conventional negligence.. . . The injured tenant may recover damages for breach of an implied warranty of habitability for all injuries sustained, whether to his person or to his property, if they have been caused by the landlord's breach. . . . The injured tenant may also proceed under general principles of tort law, without proving a breach of the implied warranty of habitability, and can recover damages for injuries proximately caused by the landlord's failure to exercise reasonable care to make the premises safe. Asper v. Haffley, 312 Pa.Super. 424, 434-35, 458 A.2d 1364, 1370 (1983) (WIEAND, J. concurring) (citations omitted); Cf. Trentacost v. Brussel, 82 N.J. 214, 412 A.2d 436 (1980). The primary differences between the warranty of habitability and negligence causes of action, then, are as follows: First, to prevail on a warranty of habitability theory, a plaintiff need only show injury resulting from the existence of a condition that makes his residence unsafe or unsanitary. A plaintiff seeking to recover under the theory of negligence, on the other hand, must show injury caused by the landlord's breach of a statutory or specifically defined duty that may change depending on the relationship between the parties. Second, to recover for breach of the warranty of habitability, a plaintiff must show that he notified the landlord of the existence of the condition he alleges caused his injury. In a negligence case, no such notice is required, although before liability will be imposed, the landlord usually is required to have failed to correct a condition discoverable through the exercise of reasonable care. See Restatement (Second) of Torts, supra § 358-§ 361. Having described the contours of the theories upon which appellant sought recovery, we now evaluate the merits of her claim.