Surrender by Operation of Law Law and Legal Definition
Surrender by operation of law occurs when the parties to a lease both do some act so inconsistent with the landlord-tenant relationship that it indicates their intent to deem the lease terminated, and can be inferred from the conduct of the parties. [Wasserman v. Ewing, 270 A.D.2d 427 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2000)].
A surrender of a lease by operation of law may arise from any condition of facts voluntarily assumed by the parties, and incompatible with the continued existence of the relation of landlord and tenant between them. Surrender by operation of law results from acts which imply mutual consent to the surrender, independently of the intention of the parties that their acts shall have that effect, and is by way of estoppel. Any acts which are equivalent to an agreement on the part of the tenant to abandon, and on the part of the landlord to resume possession of the demised premises, amount to a surrender by operation of law. [Ledsinger v. Burke, 113 Ga. 74 (Ga. 1901)].
