Are You Required to Provide Your Tenant With Quiet Enjoyment During the Lease?

Yes. You are required to provide a quiet enjoyment for your tenants, whether or not you explicitly stated so in the lease.

"Quiet enjoyment" refers to the right of the tenants to live peaceably on their property without interference to their comfort, convenience, or health. These interferences (“contraventions to the right of quiet enjoyment” in legal terms) could include a constant foul odor, toxic gases, smoke, dust, noise, excessive light, etc.

For some tenants, quiet enjoyment may mean that they have the right to live in their home without a daily intake of a neighbor's second-hand smoke. However, neighbors who smoke may argue that they have the right to do so in their home.

Tellus TIP:

This is clearly a balancing act between tenants, because protecting the rights of one party may result in infringement of the other party’s right to quiet enjoyment. One consideration is whether multiple tenants are bothered. If multiple tenants are disturbed, you will have stronger arguments that the activity in question is a nuisance. If only one tenant is disturbed, you must find a balance among all parties.