Habitability

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Habitability is the adequacy of an environment for human living. Where housing is concerned, there are generally local ordinances which define habitability. If a residence complies with those laws, it is said to be habitable. In extreme environments, such as space exploration, habitability must take into account psychological and social stressors, due to the harsh nature of the environment.

Contents

Habitability in law

Habitability is the conformance of a residence or abode to the implied warranty of habitability.[ circular definition ] A residence that complies is said to be habitable. It is an implied warranty or contract, meaning it does not have to be an express contract, covenant, or provision of a contract. There was no implied warranty of habitability for tenants at common law and the legal doctrine has since developed in many jurisdictions through housing laws and regulations. [1] [2] Habitability is a common law doctrine that is largely synonymous with tenantability. [3] In Architecture, the term habitability is understood to be an umbrella term for the suitability and value of a built habitat for its inhabitants in a specific environment over time. [4]

In order to be habitable, such housing usually:

Consequences

Violation of the warranty of habitability results in constructive eviction, whereby the landlord or lessor has, in effect, evicted the tenant or lessee. [15] The tenant may remedy the problem, [16] [17] or complain to local government authorities for remedies. [18]

See also

Habitability in extreme environments

Human factors and habitability are important topics for working and living spaces. For space exploration, they are vital for mission success. One of the critical characteristics for living and working in extreme environments the dependency on the habitat, its technological capability as well as the sociospatial framing. Inhabitants who are exposed to remote and hostile environments, not only must overcome the challenges posed by the dangers and limitations imposed by the particular environment itself, but also experience significant distress from being confined indoors and isolated from civilization and social contact. [20]

Components of the system include: The setting, the individual, the group or (microsociety) and the time. Support and evidence for the need of integrating habitability can be found in every decade. Thomas M. Fraser suggested "that habitability can be considered as the equilibrium state, resulting from man-machine-environment-mission interactions which permits man to maintain physiological homeostasis, adequate performance, and psycho-social integrity". [21]

Habitability of islands

In 2020, the island of Kökar in the Baltic Sea, not satisfied with common sustainability methods and tools, created a tool called habitability to measure their own attractiveness as a place to live. Important characteristics of island societies which have previously been overlooked are, amongst others, the extreme seasonal shifts in human pressure, the need to define distances in time, the intricate business ecosystem of islands, and the transition to renewable, locally produced energy. The tool includes 45 indicators grouped into seven areas that can be used to test the habitability of an island society. The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs end Employment has commissioned Åbo Academy University to implement this tool among the 600 inhabited Finnish islands, and the toolbox is presently being translated into Croatian. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renting</span> Payment for temporary use; hiring

Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the use of a good, service or property owned by another over a fixed period of time. To maintain such an agreement, a rental agreement is signed to establish the roles and expectations of both the tenant and landlord. There are many different types of leases. The type and terms of a lease are decided by the landlord and agreed upon by the renting tenant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landlord</span> Owner of a rented building, land or real estate

A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant. When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor, housing provider, and owner. The term landlady may be used for the female owners. The manager of a pub in the United Kingdom, strictly speaking a licensed victualler, is referred to as the landlord/landlady. In political economy it refers to the owner of natural resources alone from which an economic rent, a form of passive income, is the income received.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eviction</span> Removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord

Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lease</span> Contractual agreement in which an assets owner lets someone else use it in exchange for payment

A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user to pay the owner for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial or business equipment are also leased. Basically a lease agreement is a contract between two parties: the lessor and the lessee. The lessor is the legal owner of the asset, while the lessee obtains the right to use the asset in return for regular rental payments. The lessee also agrees to abide by various conditions regarding their use of the property or equipment. For example, a person leasing a car may agree to the condition that the car will only be used for personal use.

A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a leasehold estate is typically considered personal property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Implied warranty</span>

In common law jurisdictions, an implied warranty is a contract law term for certain assurances that are presumed to be made in the sale of products or real property, due to the circumstances of the sale. These assurances are characterized as warranties regardless of whether the seller has expressly promised them orally or in writing. They include an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, an implied warranty of merchantability for products, implied warranty of workmanlike quality for services, and an implied warranty of habitability for a home.

Constructive eviction is a circumstance where a tenant's use of the property is so significantly impeded by actions under the landlord's authority that the tenant has no alternative but to vacate the premises. The doctrine applies when a landlord of real property has acted in a way that renders the property uninhabitable. Constructive Eviction does not have to be intentional by the landlord, and acts can range from failure to remove pests or fix necessary appliances, to changing locks or creating a hostile environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Civil Court</span>

The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part for cases involving amounts up to $10,000 as well as a housing part for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the New York Supreme Court. The court has divisions by county (borough), but it is a single citywide court.

Aerospace architecture is broadly defined to encompass architectural design of non-habitable and habitable structures and living and working environments in aerospace-related facilities, habitats, and vehicles. These environments include, but are not limited to: science platform aircraft and aircraft-deployable systems; space vehicles, space stations, habitats and lunar and planetary surface construction bases; and Earth-based control, experiment, launch, logistics, payload, simulation and test facilities. Earth analogs to space applications may include Antarctic, desert, high altitude, underground, undersea environments and closed ecological systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Skelly Wright</span> American judge

James Skelly Wright was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Landlord harassment is the willing creation, by a landlord or their agents, of conditions that are uncomfortable for one or more tenants in order to induce willing abandonment of a rental contract. This is illegal in many jurisdictions, either under general harassment laws or specific protections, as well as under the terms of rental contracts or tenancy agreements.

Rent regulation in New York is a means of limiting the amount of rent charged on dwellings. Rent control and rent stabilization are two programs used in parts of New York state. In addition to controlling rent, the system also prescribes rights and obligations for tenants and landlords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landlord and Tenant Act 1985</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is a UK Act of Parliament on English land law. It sets minimum standards in tenants' rights against their landlords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to housing</span> Economic, social and cultural right

The right to housing is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right in the International human rights law which was clearly in the 1991 General Comment on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The aspect of the right to housing under ICESCR include: availability of services, infrastructure, material and facilities; legal security of tenure; habitability; accessibility; affordability; location and cultural adequacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landlord–tenant law</span> Law that details rights and duties of landlords and tenants

Landlord–tenant law is the field of law that deals with the rights and duties of landlords and tenants.

Javins v. First National Realty Corp., 428 F.2d 1071, was a case decided by the D.C. Circuit that first established the warranty of habitability in landlord–tenant law. The court determined that if the premises become uninhabitable, the tenant is freed from their obligation to pay rent.

The Costa–Hawkins Rental Housing Act ("Costa–Hawkins") is a California state law, enacted in 1995, which places limits on municipal rent control ordinances. Costa–Hawkins preempts the field in two major ways. First, it prohibits cities from establishing rent control over certain kinds of residential units, e.g., single-family dwellings and condominiums, and newly constructed apartment units; these are deemed exempt. Second, it prohibits "vacancy control", also called "strict" rent control. The legislation was sponsored by Democratic Senator Jim Costa and Republican Assemblymember Phil Hawkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retail leasing</span>

A retail lease is a legal document outlining the terms under which one party agrees to rent property from another party. A lease guarantees the lessee use of an asset and guarantees the lessor regular payments from the lessee for a specified number of months or years. Both the lessee and the lessor must uphold the terms of the contract for the lease to remain valid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eviction in the United States</span> Landlord removals of rental housing tenants in the North American country

Eviction in the United States refers to the pattern of tenant removal by landlords in the United States. In an eviction process, landlords forcibly remove tenants from their place of residence and reclaim the property. Landlords may decide to evict tenants who have failed to pay rent, violated lease terms, or possess an expired lease. Landlords may also choose not to renew a tenant's lease, however, this does not constitute an eviction. In the United States, eviction procedures, landlord rights, and tenant protections vary by state and locality. Historically, the United States has seen changes in domestic eviction rates during periods of major socio-political and economic turmoil—including the Great Depression, the 2008 Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. High eviction rates are driven by affordable housing shortages and rising housing costs. Across the United States, low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods have disproportionately higher eviction rates. Certain demographics—including low income renters, Black and Hispanic renters, women, and people with children—are also at a greater risk of eviction. Additionally, eviction filings remain on renters' public records. This can make it more difficult for renters to access future housing, since most landlords will not rent to a tenant with a history of eviction. Eviction and housing instability are also linked to many negative health and life outcomes, including homelessness, poverty, and poor mental and physical health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technology readiness level</span> Method for estimating the maturity of technologies

Technology readiness levels (TRLs) are a method for estimating the maturity of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program. TRLs enable consistent and uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology. TRL is determined during a technology readiness assessment (TRA) that examines program concepts, technology requirements, and demonstrated technology capabilities. TRLs are based on a scale from 1 to 9 with 9 being the most mature technology.

References

  1. "Landlord-Tenant Law". Wex. Cornell Law School. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  2. "Duties of the Landlord". LawShelf. National Paralegal College. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  3. Cudney, Kevin (1975). "Landlord and Tenant--Tenantable Condition of Premises--Relation of Landlord's Statutory Obligations to Common Law Warranty of Landlord's Statutory Obligations to Common Law Warranty of Habitability". Case Western Reserve Law Review. 25 (2): 371.
  4. Häuplik-Meusburger, Sandra (18 October 2011). Architecture for Astronauts An Activity-based Approach. Springer. ISBN   978-3-7091-0667-9. OCLC   863786893.
  5. In New York, see N.Y. Multiple Dwelling Law § 79.
  6. Mold in condominium: Negligent maintenance: Breach of warranty of habitability: Settlement: Verdict | Law Reporter | Find Articles at BNET.com
  7. "Second hand tobacco smoke - warranty of habtability - cooperative - single broker - antitrust - excessive interest - usury". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
  8. Pennsylvania
  9. generally, United States
  10. California
  11. District of Columbia
  12. Vermont (form).
  13. TITLE 10.COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Part 7. TEXAS RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION Chapter 304. WARRANTIES AND BUILDING AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS Texas Residential Construction Commission
  14. Massachusetts
  15. Josephson, Richard C. (1971). "The Implied Warranty of Habitability in Landlord-Tenant Relations". William & Mary Law Review. 12 (3): 580. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  16. See N.Y. Real Property Law §235-b.
  17. Warranty of Habitability (rev 7/96)
  18. N.Y. Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) §78 and §80; Multiple Residence Law (MRL) §174. (Note: The MDL applies to cities with a population of 325,000 or more and the MRL applies to cities with less than 325,000 and to all towns and villages; from N.Y. Attorney General's Website Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine .
  19. (Note to editors: merge with this article?)
  20. Häuplik-Meusburger, Sandra; Bishop, Sheryl (2021). Space Habitats and Habitability: Designing for Isolated and Confined Environments on Earth and in Space. Space and Society. Springer International Publishing. ISBN   978-3-030-69739-6.
  21. Fraser, T. M. (June 1968). "NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)" (PDF). ntrs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  22. Abo Academy. "Habitability". www.abo.fi. Abo Academy. Retrieved 28 April 2021.