Is it legal for a lease agreement to require tenants to waive their rights to a jury trial and to counterclaim?

Every state has its own rules in regards to L/T matters which you can find in the state statutes. In almost all states, a summary proceeding for eviction is done before a judge without a jury. Contracts which take away legal rights are called contracts of adhesion (one party has all the power and the other none) and courts normally do not enforce such provisions. LEGAL DISCLAIMER Mr. Sarno is licensed to practice law in NJ and NY. His response here is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/ client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter in question. Many times the questioner may leave out details which would make the reply unsuitable. Mr. Sarno strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in their own state to acquire more information.

Lease rights are a matter of contract and remedies and procedure can be agreed to as part of the contract. If a lease says all matters in dispute about the tenancy are to be done in binding arbitration and the parties agree to it, so long as no public policy is being violated, the parties can agree. Waiving a right to a jury trial is not waiving a right to trial. There is a difference. Right to trial is a very important right, but the trial you'd get would be before a judge, and the judge would decide both the law and the facts to decide. Hope that helps. Good luck. NOTE: This answer is made available by the lawyer for educational purposes only. By using or participating in this site you understand that there is no attorney client privilege between you and the attorney responding. This site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney that practices in the subject practice discipline and with whom you have an atttorney client relationship along with all the privileges that relationship provides. The law changes frequently and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The information and materials provided are general in nature, and may not apply to a specific factual or legal circumstance described in the question.

Most contract terms are negotiable, and in real property tenancies, almost all rights are waivable, although some are not. I'm not clear from your question whether you're referring to a residential or commercial tenancy, and that makes a difference. Residential tenants in California have more rights than commercial tenants, including some units being rent-controlled. At least one of these terms is a restatement of California law. In a tenancy summary proceeding, there is no right to cross-complain anyway, since the purpose of this type of proceeding, an unlawful detainer, is to get possession of the property. If you had, for instance, a claim against the owner for damaging some of your property, that would not be a defense to an unlawful detainer, or a reason to hold up what is supposed to be a quick procedure for the owner to recover possession of property. As for being asked to waive your right to a jury trial, in California you have the right to a jury trial even in an unlawful detainer suit. So you can try to negotiate with the landlord to strike that term, or if the landlord considers this non-negotiable, either agree to it or find another place. Some resources are linked below. Nolo is a California publisher that specializes in legal self-help written for non-lawyers, and I think their guides are usually very good. Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship