Types of Tenancies

A tenancy refers to the specific situation where one individual or entity has temporary access to a property, granted to them by the owner. Most state legislation defines a tenant as someone who receives access to a dwelling in exchange for rent payments.

Types of tenancies

There are four different types of contracts that exist between landlords and tenants.

1. Fixed-term tenancy (also known as “tenancy for years”)

A fixed-term tenancy is a rental agreement that ends on a specific date. Typically, fixed-term leases last for a year—so, for instance, a lease starting on September 1st would end on August 31st of the following year. However, fixed-term leases could potentially be as short as a month or as long as five or 10 years (although usually only commercial leases are that long).

Under a fixed-term lease, the terms of the lease agreement are locked in until the agreed-upon end date. A landlord can’t raise the rent or kick out a tenant for no reason until the lease expires. And a tenant can't break a fixed-term lease early without their landlord's agreement—except in a handful of specific scenarios.

2. Periodic tenancy

A periodic tenancy is a lease agreement that has no set end date. It automatically renews at the end of each “period”: it can be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even yearly (although a month-to-month agreement is the most common type of periodic tenancy). Periodic tenancies can be established by a written, signed lease agreement—but often they are created through a verbal agreement and don’t involve a written lease.

A periodic tenancy ends when either the tenant or the landlord notifies the other person that they’d like to terminate the agreement. Typically, notice must be given at least a month in advance for month-to-month leases, although the exact requirements vary depending on state law.

3. Tenancy at sufferance (or holdover tenancy)

A tenancy at sufferance happens when a tenant stays past the expiration date of their lease—either the end date on a fixed-term lease, or the date listed on a notice of termination for a periodic tenancy. Until the landlord decides to either treat the tenant as a trespasser and evict them, or accept their continued rent payments and create a new month-to-month tenancy, the tenant is considered a tenant at sufferance, or a holdover tenant.

4. Tenancy at will

A tenancy at will is a kind of informal agreement between a tenant and landlord. This type of tenancy is established when the tenant takes possession of a unit with the landlord’s permission, but without specifying how long they’ll stay or whether they’ll pay rent. (As soon as rent payments are agreed upon, a tenancy at will typically becomes a periodic tenancy.) A common example of a tenancy at will would be someone allowing their friend to crash on the couch for a few months rent-free.

Even though they don’t pay rent, at-will tenants have certain rights. They can’t be kicked out with no warning. In California, for instance, a landlord must give an at-will tenant 30 days’ written notice before forcing them out—similar to the process for terminating a month-to-month tenancy.

Finally, keep in mind that the exact legal definition of these terms varies slightly by state. Some states consider any periodic tenancy without a written lease agreement to be a tenancy at will, even if the tenant pays a set amount of rent each month.

Related articles

Sources

[1] FL Stat § 83.43 (2022)

[2] MI Comp L § 554.601 (2022)

[3] TX Prop § 92.001 (2022)