Landlord and tenant

Landlord and tenant, the parties to the leasing of real estate, whose relationship is bound by contract. The landlord, or lessor, as owner or possessor of a property—whether corporeal, such as lands or buildings, or incorporeal, such as rights of common or of way—agrees through a lease, an agreement for a lease, or other instrument to allow another person, the tenant, or lessee, to enjoy the exclusive possession and use of the property for a specified period, usually upon payment of a rent. Generally speaking, any person may grant or take a lease, though there are several common-law and statutory qualifications and exceptions (notably with regard to minors, aliens, felons, the legally insane, et al.). Also, generally speaking, any owner of an interest in property may grant a valid tenancy for any estate equal to or less than his own; thus, a person who has merely a tenancy himself may grant a subtenancy for any period equal to or shorter than his own tenancy.

The principal forms of tenancy are as follows: (1) A “lease for a fixed period” may be granted for any certain period, whether as short as a week or less or for as long as several hundred years. Tenancies for a fixed period end automatically with the expiration of the period. (2) A “periodic tenancy”—granted yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, or for some other period—continues indefinitely until ended by a notice to quit given by either landlord or tenant. A certain required period of prior notice is governed by law and mutual consent. (3) A “tenancy at will” endures at the will of both landlord and tenant. Such tenancies are comparatively rare but are sometimes used to meet temporary necessities. If no rent is agreed upon, the landlord is entitled to compensation for use and occupation. (4) A “tenancy in sufferance” is one in which a tenant came into possession by a lawful means but “holds over,” or remains in occupation, after his estate is ended; the tenant is considered a “tenant at sufferance” and not a trespasser. A tenancy in sufferance, like a tenancy at will, is readily converted into a periodic tenancy; and the tenant is similarly liable to pay compensation for use and occupation. Under certain circumstances, he may be subject to penalties, such as double rent.

A lease or tenancy may come to an end by expiration of the fixed term for which it was granted, by expiration of notice to quit, or by forfeiture. It is usual to insert in a lease an express provision for forfeiture of the lease if the tenant fails to pay the rent or breaks any of his covenants. If a right of forfeiture arises, it lies with the landlord to decide whether or not to enforce it. In most cases, he is required to serve on the tenant a notice specifying the breach, requiring it to be remedied, if possible, and requiring compensation, if desired. The ancient remedy of distress whereby the landlord might enter, seize, and retain personal property in the possession of the tenant until arrears of rent were paid is still available in some jurisdictions, though in a considerable number it has been abolished, leaving only the ordinary legal processes for the collection of a debt and the summary procedure for ejection of the tenant.