Legal Definitions - at-will tenancy

At-Will Tenancy

An at-will tenancy describes a rental agreement for property that does not have a fixed end date and can be terminated by either the landlord or the tenant at any time, usually with a reasonable period of notice. Unlike a lease with a specific term (like a one-year lease), an at-will tenancy continues indefinitely until one party decides to end it. These arrangements often arise informally, without a written contract, or when a formal lease expires but the tenant continues to occupy the property with the landlord's permission.

Here are some examples:

• Example 1: Informal Room Rental

  Maria agrees to rent a spare bedroom in David's house. They have a verbal agreement that Maria will pay rent weekly, but they don't discuss how long she will stay. After a few weeks, Maria finds a new apartment and informs David that she will be moving out in seven days. David accepts her notice, and Maria vacates the room as planned.

  This illustrates an at-will tenancy because there is no formal agreement specifying a lease term. Either Maria (the tenant) or David (the landlord) could have ended the arrangement at any time, provided they gave reasonable notice, which in this case was seven days.

• Example 2: Post-Lease Occupancy

  The Chen family had a two-year lease on their commercial storefront, which expired on March 31st. They did not sign a new lease, but the landlord allowed them to continue operating their business there and accepted their rent payments for April and May. In mid-May, the landlord informed the Chens that they needed to vacate the premises by the end of June because the landlord had found a new tenant with a long-term lease.

  This situation became an at-will tenancy (often referred to as a "holdover tenancy" or "month-to-month tenancy" in this context) after the original fixed-term lease expired. Since no new fixed-term lease was signed, the Chens were occupying the property at the will of the landlord, and the landlord could terminate the arrangement with appropriate notice, even though the Chens were still paying rent.