MATERIAL BREACH OF THE LEASE

A landlord might want to end the lease because you did something that breaches the lease, violates your obligations as a tenant under the Residential Landlord Tenant Code, or damages the physical condition of the property.  To terminate your lease in these situations, the landlord must give you a written notice telling you what you did wrong and giving you fourteen days to fix or cure the breach first.  This is called a 14-day right to cure notice.  If you fix, or “cure” in other words, the breach, then the lease continues.  If you do not fix or “cure” the breach, then the lease terminates, and the landlord can file for an eviction.  Also, if the breach requires repairs in order to cure the breach, you must complete the repairs within the 14-day window. Or, if the repairs, in good faith, begin during the 14-day window and are completed within a reasonable time thereafter.  

If you breach the lease in a way that threatens health and safety, the landlord can require you to repair, replace, or clean the damaged item as quickly as conditions require if it is an emergency.  If it is not an emergency, you must repair, replace, or clean the damaged item or items that threaten health and safety within 14 days after written notice from the landlord.  If you do not repair, replace, or clean the damaged item as quickly as required, in the case of an emergency, or within fourteen days after written notice in non-emergencies, the landlord can terminate the lease and sue for eviction.

HOWEVER, the landlord does not have to give a 14-day right to cure notice where you fail to pay rent or where you are conducting illegal activities or permitting illegal activities in your dwelling unit.  

There are other notices that must be given to tenants who breach a lease and who occupy Section 8 or Public housing.  These notices go beyond the scope of this Classroom.  You should consult an attorney who can assess whether you have received all required notices under federal law if you or the place where you live receives a financial subsidy from the federal government.