FACTS:        

The tenant moved into the residential property about a week ago.  The lease is for a six-month period and encompasses about four acres of rural property.  During the first week, the tenant found four ticks on his dog, presumably picked up from a wood pile on the rental property.  The tenant has insisted that she must cancel the lease based on these ticks. 

ISSUE:                      

May the tenant cancel because her dog encountered four ticks while on the property?

ANSWER:                

Probably not.

DISCUSSION:         

The presence of four ticks on the grounds of a residence in a rural area is probably not a material breach.  The landlord therefore has no legal obligation to cancel the lease.