Landlord and Tenant: Statute of Frauds

This lesson addresses the application of the statute of frauds to leases of real property. Topics include the conveyance and contract provisions of the statute; the contents of the lease document that are required to comply with the statute of frauds; the effect upon the parties when a tenant takes possession under an invalid oral arrangement; the doctrine of part performance; and the statutory exception for short-term leases.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

1. State the basic requirements of the statute of frauds.
2. Identify the terms of a lease that must comply with the statute of frauds.
3. Examine the treatment of alleged oral terms by courts when there is a written lease.
4. Explain the doctrine of part performance and equitable estoppel as means to enforce an oral lease.
5. Discuss permissible oral leases (statutory exception for short-term leases).
6. Express the effect upon the parties when a tenant takes possession under an invalid oral arrangement;
7. Describe the features of the conveyance section and contracts section of the statute of frauds.
8. Apply the features of the conveyance section and contracts section of the statute of frauds.