A landlord entered into a 10-year lease of a building with an auctioneer, who planned to use the building itself for a storage area and the covered porch at the front of the building for auctions. A term in the auctioneer’s lease stated, "Lessor agrees to maintain all structures on the property in good repair." Four years into the lease, the landlord sold the property to a buyer. The buyer did not agree to perform any obligations under the lease. As instructed, the auctioneer began paying rent to the buyer. In the fifth year of the lease, the porch roof began to leak. Citing the lease terms, the auctioneer asked the buyer to repair the roof. He continually refused to do so. The auctioneer finally repaired the roof herself at a cost of $2,000. The auctioneer then brought an appropriate lawsuit to recover the money. Absent any other facts, what is the auctioneer likely to recover?

Usually, the landlord is required to notify the tenant if he/she plans to sell the property, but regardless of who owns the property (the original landlord or a new landlord), the contract terms are valid and must be honored by both the current landlord and the tenant.

The new owner immediately became the new landlord and he/she assumed all the responsibilities stated in the lease contract. Since the lease contract stated that the "lessor (landlord) agreed to maintain all structures on the property in good repair", the new landlord must pay for any necessary repairs.