Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Kansas

Re: Sub-leasee's rights - hunting lease

Okay, I'll take a shot at this one. This advice is intended to be both legal and practical. If you only got a sublease signed by the sublessor, but did not get a written consent from the landowner (either in the sublease itself or in a separate letter), your right to hunt is solely dependent on the main lease between your sublessor and the landowner. If the main lease is terminated, so is the sublease. Depending upon the facts (and it seems doubtful from your inquiry that you received written consent from the landowner for the sublease), you likely have no right to hunt on the property in question this year. I would have to look at your sublease and a copy of the main lease to give you definitive advice, however.

The next question is what do you do about your losses. You likely have a cause of action against your sublessor either under your sublease, or possibly under a detrimental reliance theory, but again, I would have to review the sublease in order to give you definitive advice.

That's the legal side. The practical side is every lawsuit is not a good lawsuit. Yes, you likely could sue your sublessor for your damages (cost of time and effort to build deer stands, damages related to your not being able to hunt this year because you can't get alternative space in time, etc.), but those amounts pale in comparison of the expense you will incur suing to get those funds back, and then there is no guarantee that your sublessor can pay a judgment even if you win the suit. Unless the sublease provides for attorney's fees, you likely won't be able to get them back even if you do win the suit.

Therefore, my practical advice is to make the best deal you can with your sublessor. Try to get as close to whole on your out of pocket outlays as you can. I doubt you will be made 100% whole, but if you can get him to pay more than the $2,000 you paid him, you will have done reasonably well in my view.

Our legal system is far from perfect. The unfortunate truth is that it is very difficult to seek justice through the court system on small claims. That is just a fact of life. If you want me to look at the papers and see if I can come up with anything else, I will be happy to do so.

P.S. If you haven't gotten the gist of this advice, next time you enter into a deer lease out of state (or in state for that matter), make sure you have permission from the landowner to hunt on his property. It's best to get the lease directly from the landowner. If it is a sublease, you will want to landowner to sign the sublease and consent to it. You will also want some language that gives you the right to stay on the land even if the main lease terminates (it then becomes a lease between you and the landowner).