Edwards v. Totten
Edwards v. Totten
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court:
Variance is claimed in that plaintiff averred that defendant held under a monthly tenancy, while it is conceded that he was a tenant by sufferance as defined in our Code. This variance is immaterial; since, in either instance, the tenancy may be terminated by thirty days’ notice to quit, as was given in this case. '
It is urged that the acceptance of the tender of the amount due’ on the date of the hearing in the municipal court abated plaintiff’s right of action. This was not the receipt of rent after notice to quit or rent for a new term. It was for rent already in arrears, and merely obviated the^ necessity of entering judgment for that amount. It in no way affected plaintiff’s right to judgment for possession. Byrne v. Morrison, 25 App. D. C. 72.
Error is assigned in holding that the payment and acceptance of rent in advance for December, 1917, and January, 1918, did not terminate plaintiff’s right to proceed with the suit. “The receipt of rent by a landlord, after notice to quit, of rent for a new term or part thereof, amounts to a waiver of his right to demand possession under the notice.” Byrne v. Morrison, supra. The judgment in this case was awarded on plaintiff’s affidavit, but its legality rests upon the averments
The judgment is reversed, with costs, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. Reversed and remanded„
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- Variance; Landlord and Tenant; Notice to Quit; Waiver. 1. The variance, in an action by a landlord for possession of the leased premises, between an averment in the declaration that the tenant held under a monthly tenancy and proof that he was a tenant by sufferance, is immaterial, where the notice to quit given would be sufficient in either case. 2. The acceptance by the landlord of the tender by the tenant of the rent in arrears on the date of the hearing of an action for possession of the leased premises does not affect the landlord’s right to judgment for possession. (Citing Byrne v. Morrison, 25 App. D. C. 72.) 3. The receipt of rent by a landlord, after notice to quit, amounts to a waiver of his right to demand possession under the notice. (Citing Byrne v. Morrison, supra.)