Lindsey v. Normet, 405 U.S. 56 (1972)

Citation: Lindsey v. Normet, 405 U.S. 56 (1972)
Parent Document: Lindsey v. Normet, 405 U.S. 56 (1972)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Original Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0405_0056_ZS.html ↗

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Underlying appellants' claim is the assumption that they are denied due process of law unless Oregon recognizes the failure of the landlord to maintain the premises as an operative defense to the possessory FED action and as an adequate excuse for nonpayment of rent. The Constitution has not federalized the substantive law of landlord-tenant relations, however, and we see nothing to forbid Oregon from treating the undertakings of the tenant and those of the landlord as independent rather than dependent covenants. Likewise, the Constitution does not authorize us to require that the term of an otherwise expired tenancy be extended while the tenant's damage claims against the landlord are litigated. The substantive law of landlord-tenant relations differs widely in the various States. In some jurisdictions, a tenant may argue as a defense to eviction for nonpayment of rent such claims as unrepaired building code violations, breach of an implied warranty of habitability, or the fact that the landlord is evicting him for reporting building code violations or for exercising constitutional rights. 15 Some States have enacted statutes authorizing rent withholding in certain situations. 16 In other jurisdictions, these claims, if cognizable at all, must be litigated in separate tort, contract, or civil rights suits. There is no showing that Oregon excludes any defenses it recognizes as 'available' on the three questions (physical possession, forcible withholding, legal right to possession) at issue in an FED suit. III 11

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