Also known as: lets · letting · let out · lease · demise
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A grant by which one party conveys to another the right to exclusive possession of premises for a term in exchange for rent or other consideration. The grant creates a landlord-tenant relationship only when the space has a fixed location for the lease duration and the grantor transfers the right to possession.
Luna Lang orally agreed to let a warehouse to Logan Lane for three years at monthly rent. Lane took possession and paid rent for six months. When Lang later sought to end the arrangement, the court treated the letting as creating a periodic tenancy because possession had been taken and rent accepted under the lease terms.
Lexicon Media's board authorized officers to let additional office space. The corporation exercised its power to lease real property by signing a five-year agreement conveying a downtown building to a tenant, retaining title, and receiving periodic rent.
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Lillian Locke let an apartment to Luke Latham for residential use. On the lease date the unit lacked working plumbing and heat. Latham discovered the defects before moving in and terminated the letting, recovering damages for the breach of the landlord's obligation to provide suitable residential property.
Linden Bank let a branch building to a third party under a long-term lease. The bank exercised its authority to lease real property by conveying possession while retaining title and receiving periodic rent payments.
Landon Long let a retail storefront to Lance Lee. After Lee took possession a storm damaged the roof, rendering the space unusable. Long failed to repair within a reasonable time after notice, so Lee terminated the letting and recovered damages for the resulting breach.
Lighthouse Shipping let dock space to Loyal Insurance under an agreement specifying a precise berth location for vessel operations. The letting satisfied the requirement that the leased space have a fixed location for the lease duration, creating a valid landlord-tenant relationship.
An oral letting invalid under the statute of frauds creates a tenancy at will upon taking possession alone. It creates a periodic tenancy when the tenant takes possession and the landlord accepts rent as provided in the lease terms.
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The tenant may terminate the lease and recover damages or affirm the lease and obtain equitable and legal relief, including rent abatement, when the property is not suitable for residential use on the date the lease is made and thereafter.
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A corporate letting for a term longer than one year must satisfy the statute of frauds independently. An oral modification changing the property interest transferred is unenforceable unless reduced to writing.
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…privacy from other forms of governmental invasion. But the protection of a person's general right to privacy—his right to be let alone by other people—is, like the protection of his property and of his very life, left largely to the law of the individual States." Katz v. United States , 389 U. S. 347, 350-351…