Leasehold estate

For more information on landlord and tenant, visit Britannica.com.

An association between two individuals arising from an agreement by which one individual occupies the other's real property with permission, subject to a rental fee.

The term landlord refers to a person who owns property and allows another person to use it for a fee. The person using the property is called a tenant. The agreement between a landlord and a tenant is called a lease or rental agreement.

The landlord and tenant relationship has its roots in feudalism, a system of land use and ownership that flourished in Europe between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. Under feudalism land was owned and controlled by a military or political sovereign ruler. This ruler gave portions of land she or he owned to another person, called a lord. The lord, in turn, could allow another person, called a vassal, to use smaller portions of the lord's land. The vassal pledged allegiance and military or other service to the lord in exchange for the right to live and work on the land.

In 1066 the Normans of France conquered England, and William the Conqueror installed himself as king. King William used the feudal framework of land control to retain political power in faraway lands. Feudalism as a means of political control became obsolete by the fourteenth century, but the hierarchical system of land use and ownership remained.

The contemporary landlord and tenant relationship derives from the relationship between the lord and the vassal. However, today the landlord is the owner of the property — not, like the feudal lord, merely the manager. The tenant is similar to the vassal because the tenant does not own the property but is allowed to use it for a fee.

The landlord and tenant relationship usually refers to a living arrangement. In this respect landlord and tenant law differs from the law regarding leases. In a landlord and tenant relationship, the parties are often referred to as lessor (landlord) and lessee (tenant). Indeed, a lease is a contract that creates the same relationship as exists between a landlord and tenant: the lessor owns property and allows the lessee to use it for a fee. However, the law of leases does not necessarily concern itself with living arrangements. A lease agreement may, for example, relate to the use of a good or service. Because living arrangements are vital to human existence, landlord and tenant relationships are treated differently from lease contracts.

Generally, a landlord and tenant relationship exists if (1) the property owner consents to occupancy of the premises; (2) the tenant acknowledges that the owner has title to the property and a future interest in the property; (3) the owner actually has title to the property; (4) the tenant receives a limited right to use the premises; (5) the owner transfers possession and control of the premises to the tenant; and (6) a contract to rent exists between the parties.

A rental contract may be implied under the law. That is, landlord and tenant law may apply even in the absence of a written and signed rental agreement between the owner of the property and the person living on the property. Whether a court will imply a relationship depends on the facts of the case. The court will look at a number of factors, including the owner's consent to occupancy of the property, the length of the occupancy, and the exchange of monies, goods, or services. A court's finding that a landlord and tenant relationship exists between two or more persons is significant because the law places duties on both parties in such a relationship.

Traditionally, landlord and tenant law was favorable to landlords. Courts resolved disputes between landlords and tenants according to strict contract and property principles, and tenants often were forced to pick up and move without notice or an opportunity to present an argument to a court. Also, landlords had no obligation to maintain the premises, and many tenants were forced to live in uninhabitable conditions.

In the twentieth century, as urban populations increased and workers became more specialized, landlord and tenant law was forced to change. Typical tenants were no longer as handy at making repairs as were tenants in previous years. They worked long hours, they did not have the time to maintain premises, and building designs and utilities were more complex than before. These developments made maintenance a specialized task that could be carried out only by the landlord.

Before the 1960s landlords were not required to warrant to tenants that a rented property was fit for habitation. Landlords could rent filthy, rat-infested apartments lacking hot water and heat. Although no one was physically forced to live in such an apartment, for many persons it was the only kind they could afford.

In the 1960s and 1970s, states began to enact landlord and tenant laws requiring that domestic rental properties be made fit for their particular purpose. The implied warranty of habitability established by statute meant that rental property must have proper plumbing, water, heat, structural integrity, and other basic features necessary for human habitability. These laws required landlords to make domestic rental property habitable even if they did not promise tenants habitable conditions in the rental agreement.

New landlord and tenant statutes further require cities to create housing agencies to enforce the laws governing habitability. These agencies are charged with inspecting domestic rental properties to make sure they meet maintenance standards set forth in statutes and agency regulations. The agencies report to a state agency such as the department of health.

State legislation also governs the financial aspects of the landlord-tenant relationship. Such statutes regulate security deposits, require plain language in rental contracts, require inventory checklists, set rules on damage to rental units, and establish rights and duties upon termination of the rental agreement. In some states some of these laws are set out in court opinions, or case law. However, most landlord and tenant laws are set out in statutes in an attempt to make information about rights and duties accessible and understandable to both parties.

Contemporary landlord and tenant laws vary from state to state. Local lawmaking bodies may enact additional landlord and tenant laws, provided they do not conflict with state laws.

Generally, landlords must deliver the rented premises to the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy, and must disclose to the tenant any potential dangers and defects in the premises. The length of the tenancy should be set out in the rental agreement. If no term is written into the agreement, courts will usually deem the tenancy to be month to month. This means that either party must give the other one month's written notice before terminating the tenancy.

One important issue in landlord and tenant law is the implied warranty of habitability. If a landlord breaches the warranty of habitability, the landlord may lose the right to collect rent from the tenant, and the tenant may lose a place to live. Mannie Joseph, Inc. v. Stewart, 71 Misc. 2d 160, 335 N.Y.S.2d 709 (1972), illustrates this process. In Mannie Joseph, a landlord brought suit against a tenant, seeking back rent. The tenant testified in court that the apartment had no heat, no gas for the stove, no hot water, no running water in the kitchen, low water pressure in the bathroom, "ever-present rats and cockroaches," soggy ceilings and walls, broken windowpanes, no superintendent, and a toilet that did not flush. This testimony was supported in court by the housing director of the West Harlem Community Organization and verified in a personal visit by Judge Richard S. Lane, who noted that the oral testimony had not been sufficient to prepare him for what he saw.

Judge Lane found that the landlord had breached the implied warranty of habitability, and refused to order the tenant to make back rent payments. In his opinion Lane wondered why the tenant should have to pay for what she was receiving. He abated, or forgave, the rent and ordered the landlord to pay the tenant's court costs.

Lane could have ordered the landlord to make repairs, but there were not enough people still living in the building to warrant such an order. In fact, the department of health had recently ordered the building vacated, and Lane lamented that the tenant would "soon follow her many former co-tenants out into the streets."

Landlords have additional duties and restrictions under landlord and tenant statutes. Under the implied warranty of quiet enjoyment, a landlord must give notice to the tenant and receive permission from the tenant before entering rented premises. This rule does not apply if there is a bona fide emergency, such as a fire or some other danger to the premises.

A concept related to quiet enjoyment is the tenant's right to reasonable use of the premises. Landlords may not substantially interfere with this right. Whether actions by the landlord substantially interfere with a tenant's reasonable use of the premises is determined by the facts of the case. To illustrate, assume that a tenant rents an apartment and works there repairing electronic equipment. The landlord's refusal to allow the tenant to conduct such activity may constitute substantial interference of a reasonable use. If, however, the tenant uses the premises to mix explosive materials, the landlord may have the right to interfere because such a use is unreasonable.

If a landlord is found to have interfered with a tenant's quiet enjoyment or reasonable use of the premises, the tenant may recover damages. The measure of damages varies by jurisdiction. Usually, the tenant will not have to pay rent for the period of interference, and the tenant may seek damages for any losses caused by the interference.

There are several reciprocal duties between landlords and tenants. A landlord must keep the premises in good repair, but the tenant must not damage the premises. The tenant must leave the premises in their original condition, accounting for reasonable wear and tear, or risk losing the security deposit. A security deposit is money deposited by the tenant with the landlord to guarantee the tenant's performance under the lease. If the tenant damages the premises, the landlord may keep the security deposit and sue the tenant for damages not covered by the deposit.

A landlord must give a tenant notice to vacate the premises if the landlord wishes to rent the premises to another tenant. The landlord may not do this during a rental period. For example, if a tenant has signed a lease for one year, the landlord may not force the tenant to move until the end of the year. If the lease period expires and the landlord has not found a new tenant and has not issued a new lease to the present tenant, the present tenant may be allowed to stay on the premises on a month-to-month basis.

If the tenant plans to move during a rental period, the tenant must give at least a one-month written notice to the landlord. If the tenant fails to give notice to the landlord and leaves the premises, the tenant may be responsible for future rental payments. However, in this situation, the landlord is under a duty to take reasonable steps to find another tenant. This is called the duty to mitigate damages. Once the landlord finds another tenant, or the original lease expires, the tenant's duty to pay expires.

If the lease period expires and the landlord has found a new tenant, but the present tenant refuses to leave the premises, the landlord may sue the present tenant for damages if the landlord could be charging the new tenant more rent. The landlord may also have the tenant evicted by filing suit in court. Such a suit is called a wrongful or unlawful detainer. Unlawful detainers are governed by statute and may be based on damage to the property, nonpayment of rent, or unforeseen changes in the economic conditions of the landlord.

All states provide for unlawful detainer hearings. These proceedings help landlords avoid financial loss. Depending on the statute, a court will schedule an unlawful detainer hearing from one to three weeks after the landlord files suit. In most states the hearing is limited to issues concerning the tenant's and landlord's rights and duties. The majority of states prohibit landlords from removing a tenant's personal property from the premises until after the court orders an eviction.

A tenant may avoid eviction for nonpayment of rent by paying the past due rent along with any filing costs incurred by the landlord. If the tenant is unable to pay rent before the court date, the tenant can still present defenses to the eviction in court. For example, the tenant may argue that the rent is not due because the landlord failed to make necessary repairs. If the tenant is unable to defend successfully the failure to pay rent, the court will order the tenant to vacate the premises by a certain date in the near future. In order to collect the unpaid rent, the landlord usually must file a separate action against the tenant.

Sometimes the action or inaction of a landlord may constitute a constructive eviction. A constructive eviction occurs when the landlord has made living on the premises unbearable or impossible. For example, assume that a landlord has refused to provide heat to rented premises. This constitutes a constructive eviction, and the tenant is not liable for rent.

The law of eviction differs for tenants in public housing. Public housing is low-cost housing provided by the federal government to impoverished persons. Under the National Public Housing Asset Forfeiture Project (28 U.S.C.A. § 881(a)(7)), the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice may evict persons from public housing without notice and without a hearing, under exigent circumstances — that is, when the eviction is directly necessary to secure an important government or public interest, and there is a special need for prompt action. An eviction from public housing can be initiated only by the proper government authorities. Whether exigent circumstances exist to justify eviction without notice and a hearing depends on the facts of the case. The mere use or possession of illegal narcotics, for example, does not warrant summary eviction. However, if an apartment in a public housing project is being used for constant, high-level drug dealing, such activity may constitute exigent circumstances (Richmond Tenants Organization v. Kemp, 956 F.2d 1300 [4th Cir. 1992]). Although public housing tenants have increased eviction risks, the additional eviction procedures that must be followed by governments make eviction of public housing tenants a longer, more complicated process than eviction of private tenants.

A tenant may give his or her rights as a tenant to another person. This is called an assignment, and it is permissible unless the landlord objects or unless it is prohibited in the rental agreement. If a tenant assigns his or her rights, the tenant is still responsible for the payment of rent. In essence the recipient of the rental rights, or assignee, is a tenant of the original tenant, and there is no legal relationship between the assignee and the landlord.

Local laws in some urban areas provide for rent control. Rent control laws limit the amount of rent that a landlord may charge a tenant. In the 1990s most of these laws were repealed.

A landlord may raise rent during a rental period only with sufficient notice to a tenant. The terms of this notice are usually set forth in statutes or ordinances.

Courts often examine lease agreements for unconscionability. Unconscionable agreements are ones that unduly favor one party over the other. For example, assume that a rental agreement calls for the payment of damages to the landlord if the tenant leaves the apartment without sufficient notice. If the court considers the amount of damages to be too high, it may reduce the damages owed to the landlord.

Some lease agreements allow either party to break the agreement, and specify an amount of damages that the breaching party must pay to the other in the event of breach. Landlord-tenant relationships governed by such agreements are called tenancies at sufferance. Courts usually examine these agreements to ensure that they are not unconscionable.

In many cities tenant organizations operate to protect the interests of tenants. These organizations offer information and services to tenants. Most tenant groups offer information and services to nonmembers for a fee based on the tenant's ability to pay and the amount of work necessary to resolve the tenant's rental issues. Most states have statutes that prohibit landlords from evicting a tenant based on the tenant's membership or participation in a tenant organization.

Landlords are under no obligation to rent to tenants. However, under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.A. §§ 3601-3619 [1988 & Supp. III 1991]), they may not refuse to rent based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

See: mitigation of damages; rent strike.

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Property law

Part of the common law series

Acquisition

Gift · Adverse possession · Deed Conquest · Discovery · Accession Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property Treasure trove  · Bailment · License Alienation

Estates in land

Allodial title · Fee simple · Fee tail Life estate · Defeasible estate Future interest · Concurrent estate Leasehold estate · Condominiums

Conveyancing

Bona fide purchaser Torrens title · Strata title Estoppel by deed · Quitclaim deed Mortgage · Equitable conversion Action to quiet title · Escheat

Future use control

Restraint on alienation Rule against perpetuities Rule in Shelley's Case Doctrine of worthier title

Nonpossessory interest

Easement · Profit Covenant running with the land Equitable servitude

Related topics

Fixtures · Waste · Partition Riparian water rights Lateral and subjacent support Assignment · Nemo dat Property and conflict of laws

Other common law areas

Contract law · Tort law Wills, trusts and estates Criminal law · Evidence

v • d • e

A leasehold estate is an ownership interest in land in which a lessee or a tenant holds real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord.

Leasehold is a form of property tenure where one party buys the right to occupy land or a building for a given length of time. As lease is a legal estate, leasehold estate can be bought and sold on the open market. A leasehold thus differs from a freehold where the ownership of a property is purchased outright and thereafter held for an indeterminate length of time, and also differs from a tenancy where a property is let (rented) on a periodic basis such as weekly or monthly.

Until the end of the lease period (often measured in decades or centuries; a 999 year lease is quite common) the leaseholder has the right to remain in occupation as an assured tenant paying an agreed rent to the owner. Terms of the agreement are contained in a lease, which has elements of contract and property law intertwined.

The term estate for years may occasionally be used. This refers to a leasehold estate for any specific period of time (the word "years" is misleading). An estate for years is not automatically renewed.

Colloquially, a "lease" is often a formalization of a longer, specific period as compared with a "rental" that created a tenancy at will, terminable or renewable at the end of a short period.

Contents 1 History 2 Fixed-term tenancy or tenancy for years 2.1 Termination 3 Periodic tenancy 3.1 Termination 4 Tenancy at will 5 Lease expiration 5.1 Tenancy at sufferance 5.2 Continuation tenancy 6 Duties of participants 6.1 Duties of landlord 6.2 Landlord's tort liability 6.3 Duties of tenant 7 Effects of condemnation 8 Effects of tenancy 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

History

Landlord-tenant laws existed in places such as Andalusia, and laws governing such relationships can be found in the Code of Hammurabi. However, the common law of the landlord-tenant relation evolved in England during the Middle Ages. That law still retains many archaic terms and principles pertinent to a feudal social order and an agrarian economy, where land was the primary economic asset and ownership of land was the primary source of rank and status. See also Lord of the Manor.

Modern leasehold estates can take one of forms – the fixed-term tenancy or tenancy for years, the periodic tenancy, the tenancy at will, and the tenancy at sufferance, all discussed below. Forms no longer used include socage and burgage.

When a landowner allows one or more persons, called "tenants," to use his land in some way for some fixed period of time, the land becomes a leasehold, and the resident (or worker) - landowner relation is called a "tenancy." A tenant pays rent (a form of consideration) to the landowner. The leasehold can include buildings and other improvements to the land. The tenant can do one or more of: farm the leasehold, live on it, or practice a trade on it.

Tenancy was essential to the feudal hierarchy; a lord would own land and his tenants became his vassals. However, it still happens today in many parts of the world. In the Commonwealth Realms leasehold estates are often Crown land held by tenants for a specific period of time, typically 99 years; within certain jurisdictions, for example the Australian Capital Territory, all private land "ownerships" are actually leaseholds of Crown land. In the U.S.A., there are food co-ops which supply tenants with a place to grow their own produce. Rural tenancy is also a common practice. Under a rural tenancy, a person buys a large amount of land and the rural community uses it agriculturally as a source of income.

Fixed-term tenancy or tenancy for years

A fixed-term tenancy or tenancy for years lasts for some fixed period of time. Despite the name tenancy for years, such a tenancy can last for any period of time – even a tenancy for one week would be called a tenancy for years. At Common law the duration did not need to be certain, but could be conditioned upon the happening of some event, (e.g. "until the crops are ready for harvest", "until the war is over"). In many jurisdictions that possibility has been partially or totally abolished.^[1]

Termination

The tenancy will come to an end automatically when the fixed term runs out, or, in the case of a tenancy that ends on the happening of an event, when the event occurs. It is also possible for a tenant, either expressly or impliedly, to give up the tenancy to the landlord. This process is known as a surrender of the lease.

Periodic tenancy

A periodic tenancy, also known as a tenancy from year to year, month to month, or week to week, is an estate that exists for some period of time determined by the term of the payment of rent. An oral lease for a tenancy of years that violates the Statute of Frauds (by committing to a lease of more than--depending on the jurisdiction--one year without being in writing) may actually create a periodic tenancy, the construed term being dependent on the laws of the jurisdiction where the leased premises are located. In many jurisdictions the "default" tenancy, where the parties have not explicitly specified a different arrangement, and where none is presumed under local or business custom, is the month-to-month tenancy.

Termination

The landlord may terminate the lease at any time by giving the tenant notice as required by statute. Typically, the landlord must give six months' notice to terminate a tenancy from year to year. Tenants of lesser durations must typically receive notice equal to the period of the tenancy - for example, the landlord must give a month's notice to terminate a tenancy from month to month. However, many jurisdictions have varied these required notice periods, and some have reduced them drastically.

The notice must also state the effective date of termination, which, in many jurisdictions, must be on the last day of the payment period. In other words, if a month-to-month tenancy began on the 15th of the month, in such a jurisdiction the termination could not be on the 20th of the following month, even though this would give the tenant more than the required one month's notice.

Tenancy at will

A tenancy at will is a leasehold such that either the landlord or the tenant may terminate the tenancy at any time by giving reasonable notice. It usually occurs in the absence of a lease, or where the tenancy is not for consideration. Under the modern common law, tenancy at will can arise under the following circumstances:

• the parties expressly agree that the tenancy is at will and not for rent.
• a family member is allowed to live at home without formal arrangement. A nominal consideration may be required.
• a tenant wishes to occupy the property urgently, but there was insufficient time to negotiate and execute a lease. The tenancy at will terminates in this case as soon as a written lease is completed. If a lease fails to be realized, the tenant must vacate the property.

In a residential lease for consideration, a tenant may not be removed except for cause, even in the absence of a written lease. If a landlord can terminate the tenancy at will, a tenant by operation of law is also granted a reciprocal right to terminate at will. However, a lease that expressly continues at the will of the tenant ("for as long as the tenant desires to live on this land") does not automatically provide the landlord with a reciprocal right to terminate, even for cause. Rather, such language may be construed to convey to the tenant a life estate or even a fee simple.

A tenancy at will terminates by operation of law, if:

• the tenant commits waste against the property;
• the tenant attempts to assign his tenancy;
• the landlord transfers his interest in the property;
• the landlord leases the property to another person;
• the tenant or the landlord dies.

Lease expiration

Depending on the laws in force in a particular jurisdiction, different circumstances may legally arise where a tenant remains in possession of property after the expiration of a lease.

Tenancy at sufferance

A tenancy at sufferance (sometimes called a holdover tenancy) may exist when a tenant remains in possession of property even after the end of the lease, until the landlord acts to eject the tenant. The occupant may legally be a trespasser at this point, and the possession of this type may not be a true estate in land, even if authorities recognize the condition to hold the tenant liable for rent. The landlord may be able to evict such tenant at any time, without notice.

The landlord may also be able to impose a new lease on the holdover tenant. For a residential tenancy, such new tenancy lasts month to month. For a commercial tenancy of more than a year, the new tenancy is year to year; otherwise, the tenancy lasts for the same length of time as the duration under the original lease. In either case, the landlord can charge a higher rent, if the landlord, before the expiration of the original lease, has notified the tenant of the increase.

Continuation tenancy

In some jurisdictions, the tenant has a legal right to remain in occupation of the premises after the end of a lease unless the landlord complies with a formal process to dispossess the tenant of the property. For example, in the United Kingdom, a business tenant has a right to continue occupying their demise after the end of their lease under the provisions of sections 24-28 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (unless these provisions were formally excluded by agreement before the lease was completed). At the end of their lease they need do nothing but continue payment of rent at the previous level and uphold all other relevant covenants such as to keep the building in good repair. They cannot be evicted unless the landlord serves a formal notice to end the tenancy and successfully opposes the grant of the new lease to which the tenant has an automatic right. Even this can only be done under prescribed circumstances, for example the landlord's desire to occupy the premises himself or to demolish and redevelop the building.

Duties of participants

Duties of landlord

The first is to put the tenant in physical possession of the land at the outset of the lease (the 'English' and majority rule, as opposed to the 'American' rule which only requires the tenant be given legal possession, or the right to possess); the second is to provide the premises in a habitable condition – there is an implied warranty of habitability. If landlord violates either, the tenant can terminate the lease and move out, or stay on the premises, while continuing to pay rent, and sue the landlord for damages (or withhold rent and use breach of implied warranty of habitability as a defense when the landlord attempts to collect rent).

The lease also includes an implied covenant of quiet enjoyment – landlord will not interfere with tenant's quiet enjoyment. This can be breached in three ways.

1. Total eviction of the tenant through direct physical invasion by landlord.
2. Partial eviction – when the landlord keeps the tenant off part of the leased property (even locking a single room). Tenant can stay on the remaining property without paying any rent.
3. Partial eviction by someone other than landlord – where this occurs, rent is apportioned. If landlord claims to lease tenant an area of 1000 square metres but 400 square metres of the area belongs to another person, tenant only has to pay 60% of the rent.

Landlord's tort liability

Under the common law, the landlord had no duties to the tenant to protect the tenant or the tenant's licensees and invitees, except in the following situations:

1. Failure to disclose latent defects of which the landlord knows or has reason to know. Note that the landlord has no duty to repair, just to disclose.
2. For a short term lease (3 months or less) of a furnished dwelling, the tenants are treated as invitees, and the landlord is liable for defects even if the landlord neither knows nor should know of them.
3. Common areas under landlord's control (e.g. hallways in an apartment building), if the landlord failed to use reasonable care in maintaining them.
4. Injury resulting from landlord's negligent repairs – even if the landlord used all due care.
5. Public use, if the following three factors exist:
   1. Landlord knows or should know that the tenant makes public use of the land (e.g. the land is rented for use as a restaurant or a store);
   2. Landlord knows or should know that there is a defect; and
   3. Landlord knows or should know that the tenant will not fix the defect.

Duties of tenant

Under the common law, the tenant has two duties to the landlord. These are to pay rent when it is due, and to avoid waste of the property.

A tenant is liable to third party invitees for negligent failure to correct a dangerous condition on the premise – even if the landlord was contractually liable.

Effects of condemnation

If land under lease to a tenant is condemned under the government's power of eminent domain, the tenant may be able to earn either a reduction in rent or a portion of the condemnation award (the price paid by the government) to the owner, depending on the amount of land taken, and the value of the leasehold property.

With a partial taking of the land, the tenant may claim apportioned rent for property taken. For example, suppose a tenant leases land for 6 months for $1,000 per month, and that two months into the lease, and the government condemns 25% of the land. The tenant will then be entitled to take a portion of the condemnation award equal to 25% of the rent due for the remaining four months of the lease – $1,000, derived from $250 per month for four months.

A full taking, however, extinguishes the lease, and excuses all rent from that point. The tenant will not be entitled to any portion of the condemnation award, unless the value of the lease was greater than the rent paid, in which case the tenant can recover the difference. Suppose in the above example that the market value of the land being leased was actually $1,200 a month, but the $1,000 per month rate represented a break given to the tenant by the landlord. Because the tenant is losing the ability to continue renting the land at this bargain rate (and probably must move to more expensive land), the tenant will be entitled to the difference between the lease rate and the market value – $200 per month for a total of $800.

Effects of tenancy

Many adverse effects come from this system. Tenants have to pay the landowner even though they are doing all of the agricultural work. In a sense, it is a cycle where the tenant is never really able to become a landowner because they constantly have to pay the landowner, as well as other expenses. If a crop does not flourish, the tenant will still have to pay for the use of the land. The landowner, since he is ultimately owner of the land, also can have a say in what the tenant uses the land for or what he can or cannot grow. On the contrary, rural tenancy has advantages. If a person owns too much land for just their family to use, tenants can rent it and make use of the land. Also, if a landowner rents out the land, it can be a source of economic income for the tenant which may not have previously existed. In poorer communities, rural tenancy can give the tenants a chance to grow crops to sell in markets and to feed their families.

See also

• Tenant farmer
• Tenant acquisition
• Freehold
• Rental agreement personal and real property rental
• Lease
• Leasehold valuation tribunal
• Housing cooperative

References

1. ^ For example in England and Wales the Law of Property Act 1925 s149(6) abolishes lease for lives, and lease expressed to be for a life is converted into a lease for 90 years.

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Lease advice - the government's leasehold advisory service for England

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