Estate

Nonfreehold estates are interests in real property without seisin and which are not inheritable. The four main types of nonfreehold estates are an estate for years, an estate from year to year, a tenancy at will, and a tenancy at sufferance.

Estate for Years The most significant feature of an estate for years is that it must be of definite duration, that is, it is required to have a definite beginning and a definite ending. The most common example of an estate for years is the arrangement existing between a LANDLORD AND TENANT whereby property is leased or rented for a specific amount of time. In this type of estate the transferor leases the property to the transferee for a certain designated period, for example: "Transferor leases Blackacre to transferee for the period of January 1, 1998, to January 1, 2003, a period of five years."

During the five-year period, the transferee has the right to possess Blackacre and use and enjoy the fruits that stem from it. He or she is required to pay rent according to the terms of the rental agreement and is not permitted to commit waste on the premises. If the transferee dies during the term of the lease, the remainder of such term will pass to the transferee's personal representative for distribution pursuant to a will or the laws of DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION, since a leasehold interest is regarded as personal property or a chattel real.

Estate from Year to Year The essential distinguishing characteristic of an estate from year to year is that it is of indefinite duration. For example, a landlord might lease Blackacre to a tenant for a two-year period, from January 1, 2003, to January 1, 2005, at a rental of $600 per month, payable in advance on or before the ninth day of each month. The tenant might hold possession beyond January 1, 2005, and on or before January 9, 2005, give the landlord $600. If the landlord accepts the rent, the tenant has thereby been made a tenant from year to year. An estate of this nature continues indefinitely until one of the parties gives notice of termination. The terms of the original lease are implied to carry over to the year-to-year lease, except for the term that set forth the period of the lease.

Notice of termination is an important component of this type of periodic tenancy. In the preceding example, either party would be able to terminate the tenancy by providing notice at least six months preceding the end of the yearly period. Statutory provisions often abridge the length of notice required to end periodic tenancies. Such tenancies may come within requirements set forth by the STATUTE OF FRAUDS.

Tenancy at Will A tenancy at will is a rental relationship between two parties that is of indefinite duration, since either may end the relationship at any time. It can be created either by agreement, or by failure to effectively create a tenancy for years.

A tenancy at will is terminated by either individual without notice and ends automatically by the death of either party or by the commission of voluntary waste by the lessee. It is not assignable and is categorized as the lowest type of chattel interest in land.

Tenancy at Sufferance A tenancy at sufferance is an estate that ordinarily arises when a tenant for years or a tenant from period to period retains possession of the premises without the landlord's consent. This type of interest is regarded as naked and wrongful possession.

In this type of estate, the tenant is essentially a trespasser except that his or her original entry onto the property was not wrongful. If the landlord consents, a tenant at sufferance may be transformed into a tenant from period to period, upon acceptance of rent.