Court Opinion

ID: 9634996
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 13:31:59.058675+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:49:42.794323
License: Public Domain

PRICE, Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent for several reasons. First, unlike the majority, I do not feel that Pennsylvania has been moving consistently and inevitably toward adoption of an implied warranty of habitability in residential leases. Second, I do not consider the extreme burden imposed by the majority opinion on both landlords and the judicial machinery to be warranted.
The law in Pennsylvania is that while a landlord may expressly covenant that premises are tenantable, there is no implied covenant of this nature on the landlord’s part. Smith v. M.P.W. Realty Co., Inc., 423 Pa. 536, 225 A.2d 227 (1967); Kearse v. Spaulding, 406 Pa. 140, 176 A.2d 450 (1962). Further, Pennsylvania has never imposed an ongoing duty on landlords to keep leased premises in repair, unless he expressly covenants to do so. Solomon v. Neisner Bros., 93 F.Supp. 310 (M.D.Pa.1950), aff’d, 187 F.2d 735 (3d *91Cir. 1951); Lopez v. Gukenback, 391 Pa. 359, 137 A.2d 771 (1958); Smith v. Kravitz, 173 Pa.Super. 11, 93 A.2d 889 (1953).
Elderkin v. Gaster, 447 Pa. 118, 288 A.2d 771 (1972), abolished caveat emptor in the home builder-vendor situation. However, the obligation imposed on the builder-vendor is one to guarantee habitability at the time of the sale, as is the case in the normal buyer-seller relationship. Implied warranty, as adopted by the majority, imposes an ongoing obligation on landlords to maintain leased premises in a “habitable” condition, a crucial term which, for all practical purposes, the majority leaves undefined. Holding that “habitability” is to be determined on a case by case basis according to malleable considerations renders it unlikely that there will be efficient resolution of each case. Because varying standards will necessarily be imposed by the courts, a landlord cannot possibly anticipate what is legally demanded of him. Therefore, a landlord must accede to every whim of the tenant or face the equally costly route of postponed rent collection pending legal proceedings.
One may argue that the housing situation in our country has deteriorated to the point of posing a serious threat to the health and welfare of the populace. While I can sympathize with that position, I do not subscribe to the majority’s attempted solution. Inconvenience and injustice in residential leasing are not cured by simply substituting a new victim.
Even if I were inclined to agree that an implied warranty of habitability should be read into all residential leases, I feel that any change in landlord-tenant law so drastic as that adopted by this court today should come from the legislature. Exact standards should be articulated so that all are aware of their obligations and entitlements. In addition, an escrow system should be devised so that withheld rent is put in safekeeping from the outset of the tenant’s withholding. I feel that responsibility for development of such an intricate plan properly lies with the legislature.
I would affirm the order of the lower court.