Legal Definitions - sufferance

Sufferance refers to a state of passive permission or toleration, where an action or situation is allowed to continue, not because it has been explicitly approved, but because it has not been actively prevented or objected to. In a legal context, it often describes a situation where someone remains in possession of property after their legal right to do so has ended, but the owner has not yet taken steps to evict them.

• Example 1: Imagine a small business owner who occasionally uses a portion of the adjacent, vacant lot for overflow parking for their customers, even though they don't own it. The owner of the vacant lot is aware of this but has never formally granted permission nor has they ever objected or put up "no parking" signs. The business owner's customers are parking on the lot by sufferance, meaning the lot owner is passively tolerating the use without explicit consent or objection.

• Example 2: Consider a college student whose dormitory lease officially ends on May 15th. However, due to a late flight, the student remains in their room until May 17th. The university housing office is aware but has not yet initiated any formal action to remove the student or charge additional fees for those two extra days. During those two days, the student is occupying the dorm room by sufferance, as their legal right to be there has expired, but the university is passively allowing their continued presence.

• Example 3: A local community garden has a rule that only members can use the shared tools. However, for several months, non-members have occasionally borrowed tools from the shed, and the garden committee, despite knowing about it, has not enforced the rule or taken steps to prevent it. The non-members are using the tools by sufferance, as the committee's omission to enforce their right to restrict tool use implies a passive allowance of the practice.