John Doe comes into your office for a consultation. You are a practicing attorney. John is concerned. He is in a dispute with his roommate. Him and his roommate rent a 3 bedroom apartment. The rent is $2000 total. Immediately after moving in, John's roommate Frank moved an office desk into the 3rd room.  The desk took up much of the room, and the remainder was filled with Frank's school books.

John put his guitar in the room and his music. The next day, he found his guitar and music back in his room. John knocked on the door to discuss, and Frank said he needed to study. The next day, John found a lock on the door and Frank was, again, studying inside.

John doesn't feel it is fair to pay 50% of the rent if he has no access to the third room. Also, the only reason he agreed to live there is because he thought he would have partial access to the third room so he could play music on the weekends.

You, the attorney, look at the lease. The lease does not discuss which rooms are accessible by either, but does state the following:  

"The leased premises shall be rented by the following tenants; John Doe and Frank Lee"

1. Identify the Rule. Figure out what rule is controlling in the circumstances.
2. Perform your Analysis. Apply the rule you identified to the facts of the case.
3. State your Conclusion. Essentially, answer the question posed by the Issue.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Rule In the absence of specific lease provisions regarding room access tenants typically have equal ... View the full answer