Also known as: estate at will · estate at will tenancy · tenancy at will
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A nonfreehold estate in land that is terminable at the will of either the landlord or the tenant and that has no designated period of duration.
Lake Freight permitted its dispatcher Ulysses to occupy an apartment above the depot under an email stating he could stay as long as the arrangement worked for both sides. No rent amount, fixed term, or duration was specified. When Lake Freight later notified Ulysses to vacate within thirty days because the setup no longer suited its needs, the occupancy ended immediately without further process or cause.
Brook Connect and Bright Satellite reached an oral understanding allowing the field technician to occupy a bungalow on company land with no written term or rent. The technician took possession. Either party could end the arrangement at any time when it proved unsatisfactory, and the occupancy carried no fixed duration.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An estate at will ends at any time upon notice from either party and carries no designated period. A periodic tenancy continues for successive periods until proper notice is given at the end of a period.
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Termination occurs on the day notice is received unless a later date is specified. The notice may be oral in the absence of contrary lease provisions.
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The death of either the landlord or the tenant ends the tenancy on the date the survivor learns of the death unless the successor and the remaining party agree otherwise.
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An attempted assignment by the tenant terminates the tenancy on the date the landlord learns of it unless the assignee and landlord agree otherwise.
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Yes. When possession is taken under a lease invalid for lack of a writing, a tenancy at will is created unless rent is also paid and accepted, which instead creates a periodic tenancy.
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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…