Understanding the Different Types of Tenancies: Four Different Types of Tenancies to Learn About

Securing tenancy, whether for a commercial or residential property, involves a long and sometimes complicated process, especially if you know little to nothing about it. Although you can work with a property research company or have tenant representation to make things easy, it’s still vital to learn about these four different types of tenancies to know exactly which category your needs fit best:

Fixed term tenancy

From the name itself, this type of tenancy is between the landlord and tenant for a specific period. A lease agreement on this type of tenancy can be as short as a few months or as long as ten years. Hence, you need to decide on the specific period for which you’d like to rent a property and communicate that with your property research company beforehand.

A fixed-term tenancy also means the agreement is locked until the agreed end date, so the landlord can’t kick you out without any fair reason or raise your rent. At the same time, you also can’t break that agreement unless it is for acceptable reasons.

Periodic tenancy

In this type of tenancy, you’ll enter into an agreement with a landlord to rent a property without any end date. This means that you can continue the tenancy until you or the landlord give notice that you’re going to end it. Since you won’t be locked in a contract for a specific period, this is a good option if you’re operating temporarily in an area or you still haven’t decided about the type of property you’d be in for the long run. You can also work with tenant representation in creating an agreement. This will allow you to renew your contract every month, every five months, or every year.

Tenancy at will

Although this isn’t a common type of tenancy, especially for commercial spaces, tenancy at will is still an option for those businesses that are just starting out and may not have the budget to pay rent for a complete office just yet. This type of tenancy essentially means that there’s an informal agreement between the landlord and tenant that the latter can use the property without specifying if he will pay rent or how long he will stay.

For some, this could be similar to couch crashing, but at-will tenants actually have rights in the country. For instance, a landlord can’t kick them out without a 30-day written notice to vacate the property.

Holdover tenancy

Finally, there’s a holdover tenancy or tenancy at sufferance. When this happens, the tenant has already stayed in the property past the agreed end date for a fixed-term tenancy or the notice of termination for a period tenancy. Here, the tenant can continue to stay in the property, create a new month-to-month agreement with the landlord, and continue to pay monthly rentals unless the latter decides to force an eviction if they decide the tenant is a trespasser.

Whatever type of tenancy you’re looking for, make sure that you get tenant representation and work with a stable property research company, like PA Commercial, LLC, to help you choose the best one for your needs. Contact Levi Smith at PA Commercial today!