Fixture

If a trade fixture is not removed from the premises within the period specified in the lease, it becomes part of the realty and the landlord acquires title to it. A tenant's failure to remove domestic fixtures within the proper period will usually have the same result. The tenant is presumed to have abandoned the fixtures by failing to remove them.

The amount of time allotted to the tenant to remove the fixtures varies. In some jurisdictions, the objects must be removed during the term of the tenancy. The right to remove the articles terminates with tenancy, in some states; whereas, in others, the tenant may remove the articles within a reasonable time after the expiration of the tenancy. The facts and circumstances of each case determine what period constitutes a "reasonable time."

The landlord can expressly consent to the tenant's removal of the fixtures even after the conclusion of the lease term or the surrender of possession. If the owner persuades the tenant to leave fixtures on the premises for some particular objective, he or she cannot acquire title to the fixtures because the tenant has postponed their removal.

In most states, if a tenant accepts a new lease that contains no provisions concerning articles attached during tenancy under the prior lease, the tenant will lose the right to remove them. At the expiration of the initial lease, the fixtures become part of the realty. By accepting the new lease, the tenant acquires a temporary interest in both the fixtures and the land.

Generally, an extension of the original lease does not deprive the tenant of the right to remove fixtures. The tenant's right of removal is lost, however, if he or she merely stays or holds over without extending the current lease.

If the landlord prevents the tenant from detaching fixtures to which he or she is entitled, the time for removal is extended until it can be accomplished. If the landlord wrongfully ends the tenancy and the tenant is ousted, the tenant has a reasonable time in which to remove his or her fixtures.

After the tenancy expires, a landlord can order the tenant to unfasten unwanted fixtures. If the tenant fails to do so, the landlord can have the fixtures removed and charge the tenant for expenses incurred in their removal.