Ownership and estates

Estate at sufferance

A tenant who entered lawfully and stayed after the right to possess ended

The holdover tenant. It is the weakest estate recognized in law, and it exists mainly to say what the person is not: not a trespasser, because they entered lawfully, so the landlord must go through eviction rather than simply removing them.

How the exam asks about it

Watch for the landlord accepting rent afterwards — that generally converts the sufferance into a periodic tenancy and restarts the notice requirements.

Related terms

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