A landlord leases an apartment to a tenant for a term of five years. The lease includes no provision for automatic renewal or further tenancy beyond the five-year term, but the tenant continues to occupy the apartment and pay rent after the lease expires. The landlord accepts the rent without objection. Which of the following describes the tenant’s tenancy after the expiration of the original five-year lease?
The correct answer is that the tenant’s tenancy becomes a periodic tenancy. When a tenant continues to occupy property and pay rent after the lease expires, with the landlord’s consent (e.g., acceptance of rent), the law typically recognizes this arrangement as a periodic tenancy. The period is usually determined by the frequency of rent payments (e.g., month-to-month if rent is paid monthly). This differs from tenancy at will, which does not involve set rent payments and can be terminated by either party at any time, and tenancy for years, which requires a fixed start and end date. Tenancy at sufferance applies when a tenant unlawfully holds over after the lease period without the landlord’s consent.
Ask Bash
Bash is our AI bot, trained to help you pass your exam. AI Generated Content may display inaccurate information, always double-check anything important.
What is a periodic tenancy?
Open an interactive chat with Bash
How does a periodic tenancy differ from a tenancy at sufferance?
Open an interactive chat with Bash
What happens if the landlord does not accept rent after the lease expires?