Also known as: estates at will · tenancy at will
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A nonfreehold estate which is terminable at the will of the transferor and also at the will of the transferee and which has no other designated period of duration. Either party may end the arrangement at any time without cause or advance notice unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
Evergreen Bank allowed Eric Espinoza to occupy an unused office suite above its branch after an email exchange stated he could stay so long as the arrangement worked for both sides. No rent amount, fixed term, or notice period appeared in the correspondence. When the bank later decided the space was needed for storage, it directed Espinoza to vacate within thirty days and he complied without dispute.
Equinox Energy and Elemental Pharmaceuticals exchanged emails outlining a five-year lease of warehouse space but never signed a writing. Elemental took exclusive possession of the premises and began paying the stated monthly rent, which Equinox accepted for several months. When a dispute arose, Elemental remained in possession only at the will of Equinox because the lease failed the statute of frauds.
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An estate at will arises when the parties agree to an arrangement with no stated duration and no periodic rent is reserved or paid, or when possession is taken under a lease invalid under the statute of frauds. The key is mutual terminability at any time without a designated period. Payment and acceptance of periodic rent instead creates a periodic tenancy measured by the rent interval.
Supporting sources
Yes. The tenancy depends on the continuing wills of both parties. The death of either landlord or tenant ends the arrangement on the date the survivor learns of the death unless the successor and the remaining party agree to continue.
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The tenancy ends on the day notice is received by the other party unless the notice specifies a later date. Notice may be oral. The tenant receives a reasonable time after notice to remove goods but remains liable for use and occupation beyond the termination date.
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Yes. An attempt by either party to assign the interest ends the tenancy on the date the other party learns of the attempt unless the assignee and the other party agree otherwise. If they approve, a new tenancy at will is created.
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…the agreement at a date of his choice creates a determinable life tenancy on behalf of the tenant or merely establishes a tenancy at will. The courts below held that the lease created a tenancy at will permitting the current landlord to evict the tenant. We granted the tenant’s motion for leave to appeal and now reverse the…