Pg 19

Question 1

What is another name for non-freehold estates in land?

Answer 1

Landlord tenant. This essentially means a lease.

Question 2

What is the best way to approach an essay on landlord tenant issues?

Answer 2

– identify the type of tenancy: for years, periodic, at will, at sufferance
- identify the basic dispute: fight over rent, condition of premises, fight over possession, fight over improvements
– defenses: eviction, waste
– did the landlord or the tenant transfer his interest and what effect does the transfer have?

Question 3

What different things are included in a non-freehold estate in land?

Answer 3

Tenancy for years, periodic, at will, at sufferance

Question 4

What is a leasehold?

Answer 4

A possessory estate in land where the landlord holds a longer estate than the tenant with something leftover at the end, so there is a reversion in the Landlord. At leasehold is essentially a right of possession or occupation

Question 5

Leaseholds always involve at least what two estates in land?

Answer 5

The tenant has a present possessory estate and the landlord has a future estate in a reversion

Question 6

In order to create a leasehold you need agreement between who?

Answer 6

The landlord and the tenant, and both of them need legal capacity

Question 7

Is an oral agreement to a leasehold OK?

Answer 7

It is OK if it is sufficiently definite in the essential parts to determine the parties‘s intent

Question 8

Who can terminate a leasehold?

Answer 8

The landlord or the tenant can terminate if either breaches the lease covenant that deprives the other of a significant inducement to the making of the lease

Question 9

What does the statute of frauds say about leaseholds?

Answer 9

If they are for more than one year they have to be in writing

Question 10

What is the rule about defects in a leasehold prop?

Answer 10

Because the tenant has less knowledge about the premises than the landlord, the landlord must inform prospective tenants about latent defects

Question 11

What is the contractual agreement for a leasehold generally?

Answer 11

It is a bargained-for exchange where the landlord gives the tenant exclusive possession of the premises and the tenant gives the landlord rent or consideration

Question 12

What is considered to be rent in a leasehold?

Answer 12

Money or consideration that is paid by the tenant to the landlord for the right to possess the premises.

Question 13

How does the accrual of rent work?

Answer 13

The landlord earns rent continuously and rent is due from the tenant continuously during the term, so the parties agree on a time/periodic times for payment during the lease according to their desires

Question 14

What are some tricky situations that could possibly be leases but likely are not?

Answer 14

– signs and billboards
– concessions
– sharecropping agreements
– lodging
– occupation incidental to employment
– contract purchaser in possession
– mortgagee in possession

Question 15

Is a sign or billboard considered to be a lease?

Answer 15

This involves having the right to put a sign on another person’s land. The installer is the tenant because they leased the parcel for that purpose.
- Signs painted on walls or roofs: considered to be easements.
– Freestanding signs: if the sign owner has exclusive control over a plot of land, that is a landlord-tenant relationship, but most billboards with posts and open spaces probably do not create leaseholds

Question 16

Are concessions considered to be leaseholds?

Answer 16

This is a merchandising entity that contracts with others to do business on parts of the premises. This is probably considered to be a license or easement because the retailer has no interest in the property and no right to exclusive possession.
– I.e.: department stores, snacks at the theater, etc.

Question 17

What are the factors to consider in deciding if a concession is a leasehold?

Answer 17

Whether the concession is physically separate from the rest of the premises, if the concession has a right of possession, if a larger business entity pays employee benefits or is liable for slip and fall, etc.

Question 18

Are sharecropping agreements usually thought to be leaseholds?

Answer 18

This is when you raise crops on land that is possessed by another and then you share the crops that are grown. A sharecropper is not a tenant because he doesn’t have possession. This is more like an easement to enter and grow crops

Question 19

What are factors to consider in deciding if a sharecropper agreement is a leasehold?

Answer 19

If it is called a lease, if a lease form was used, if the tenant has rights to the land beyond growing crops, a question of who provides the supplies, what the length of the agreement is, etc.

If the farmer resides there and grows crops, it is probably a lease. You have to look at the parties’ total relationship

Question 20

Is a lodger considered to have a leasehold?

Answer 20

Lodgers have a more permanent stay than guests, who are just transient occupants, but it’s still not the same as a tenant because there’s no possession.

Question 21

What are the factors you have to consider when determining if a lodger has a leasehold?

Answer 21

The length of the stay, if the owner lives in the same building, if the owner has free access to a room, if maid services are provided, if the occupant shares a bathroom, if the owner gives meals, if the room is furnished, if the premises are held out to the public. If the answers to these are mostly yes, then it is a lodger and not a tenant

Question 22

What is occupation incidental to employment?

Answer 22

Some jobs require an employee to live on the premises

Question 23

Is occupation incidental to employment considered to be a leasehold?

Answer 23

If an employer requires his employee to live on the premises, he’s not considered to be a tenant. Ie: caretaker of a building.

The real test is whether the occupancy is incidental to employment or if it was granted as part of being hired. If the person was first a tenant and then an employee, that is separate from employment. Migrant workers that live in cabins that are owned by the boss are considered to be tenants, and the same is true for employees that reside in company towns

Question 24

Is a contract purchaser in possession considered to be part of a leasehold?

Answer 24

The person has a right to possess land when someone else has title, not the tenant. This is equitable conversion situations and rules.

Question 25

Is a mortgagee in possession considered to have a lease hold?

Answer 25

This is when a person is allowed to keep possession until the mortgage debt is paid or the interest is foreclosed, but that person is not considered to be a tenant, they are more like a caretaker

Question 26

What are the elements of a leasehold (things that lease agreements must have)?

Answer 26

– Adequate description of the premises
– duration/term of the lease
– amount of rent

Question 27

In order for a lease agreement to have an adequate description of the premises, is it necessary that there be a formal legal description?

Answer 27

No, just evidence that identifies the intended premises is fine. This can be a street address or a nickname. Inadequacies can be cured if the tenant takes possession

Question 28

What are the rules for duration of a leasehold?

Answer 28

It must be explicit or reference a formula, otherwise it is not definite enough. It is necessary that it states the commencement. It can be fixed to start in the future or based on a certain event unless it is based on an uncertain event that may not happen within 21 years.

Question 29

What are the different types of leaseholds?

Answer 29

• Tenancy for years/fixed term
• periodic tenancy
• tenancy at will
• tenancy at sufferance
• tenancy on special limitation/leasehold with automatic termination clauses

Question 30

What is the requirement for leaseholds over one year?

Answer 30

They must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged under the SOF.

Question 31

If a tenant takes possession with landlord’s permission, what kind of leasehold is created?

Answer 31

A tenancy at will. And when the tenant pays rent, that creates a periodic tenancy at that rent

Question 32

How can an informal lease become enforcible through part performance?

Answer 32

It becomes enforcible since it excuses noncompliance with the SOF due to the part performance and allows enforcement by the party who acted under it giving independent evidence of the existence of the agreement. This happens through possession or substantial improvements

Question 33

What is involved in a tenancy for years or fixed term tenancy?

Answer 33

Parties agree to a definite period that is fixed in advance. It has fixed starting and ending dates.

Question 34

How do you create a tenancy for years/fixed term tenancy?

Answer 34

Through the express agreement of the parties for whatever term is stated. Any fixed time is OK

Question 35

What is required to create a tenancy for years/fixed term tenancy?

Answer 35

SOF imposes a one-year provision. This can be oral unless it is for more than one year, then it has to be in writing