Affiliate Broker Tennessee (TN PSI) National Practice Exam `

What does the scenario of a tenant moving out due to unresolved plumbing issues and mold growth describe?

1. Eviction

2. Constructive eviction

3. Lease termination

4. Landlord negligence

The correct answer is: Constructive eviction

The scenario describes constructive eviction because it involves a situation where the tenant is compelled to vacate the property due to the landlord's failure to maintain the premises in a habitable condition. Constructive eviction occurs when a tenant is forced to leave because the living conditions become intolerable due to issues that the landlord has a duty to resolve, such as plumbing problems and health hazards like mold. In this case, the unresolved plumbing issues and mold growth rendered the property uninhabitable, which gives the tenant grounds to claim they were constructively evicted. This legal principle protects tenants by ensuring that landlords uphold their responsibilities to maintain rental properties. Other choices may apply to different circumstances; for instance, eviction typically refers to the formal legal process initiated by the landlord to remove a tenant, while lease termination might simply involve ending the lease by mutual agreement or after a specified term. Landlord negligence could describe the landlord's actions or inactions that lead to the situation but does not specifically convey the tenant's response of moving out. In this scenario, the focus remains on the tenant's experience of being forced out due to the landlord's failure to address serious issues.