The Rent Review Specialist
Term
Term
The term of a tenancy is the duration or period of time for the contractual right to occupy the premises. For example, a tenancy granted for 10 years would give the tenant the right to remain in the premises for 10 years.
The term commencement date is not necessarily the same date as the lease. The lease date is the date of the document and a lease document is normally dated on the day that the lease is completed.
The commencement of the term is not necessarily the same as the lease/document date because the parties have agreed that the term would commence before the date when the lease was completed. Generally, the commencement date of the term would not be expected to start after the date of the lease; in such cases, an agreement for lease is likely to be entered into, where it is intended that the parties will enter into a binding agreement for term in the future.
The commencement date of the term (which as I say doesn’t have to be the same date as the date of the lease/document) is the date from which computations for contractual requirements in the tenancy. For example, rent of £x commencing on (date); rent reviews at 5 yearly intervals, where each interval would be calculated from the commencement of the term; a covenant to decorate the premises at stated intervals; and for operation of a break clause.
Because a lease/document is a contract, the duration of the term has both a contractual start date and a contractual expiry date. With a tenancy where the duration of the term is not predetermined, such as an oral tenancy or a periodic tenancy, the duration of the term and the parties’ right to end the tenancy would depend upon the terms of the tenancy.
Where the tenancy would on expiry of the contractual term qualify for rights under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 but no statutory procedures are implemented before the contractual expiry, the contractual term would end and thereafter the tenant would be able to ‘hold over’ on the same terms of the expired tenancy. Holding over is also known as the statutory term. The distinction between contractual term and statutory term/holding over is important because different rules apply when the parties want to end the existing tenancy or grant a new tenancy.
When the tenancy is outside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the tenant would have no legal right to remain in occupation of the premises after the contractual term expiry date. That does not mean that the tenant would necessarily have to vacate, simply there is no legal right to remain in occupation.
The term commencement date is not necessarily the same date as the lease. The lease date is the date of the document and a lease document is normally dated on the day that the lease is completed.
The commencement of the term is not necessarily the same as the lease/document date because the parties have agreed that the term would commence before the date when the lease was completed. Generally, the commencement date of the term would not be expected to start after the date of the lease; in such cases, an agreement for lease is likely to be entered into, where it is intended that the parties will enter into a binding agreement for term in the future.
The commencement date of the term (which as I say doesn’t have to be the same date as the date of the lease/document) is the date from which computations for contractual requirements in the tenancy. For example, rent of £x commencing on (date); rent reviews at 5 yearly intervals, where each interval would be calculated from the commencement of the term; a covenant to decorate the premises at stated intervals; and for operation of a break clause.
Because a lease/document is a contract, the duration of the term has both a contractual start date and a contractual expiry date. With a tenancy where the duration of the term is not predetermined, such as an oral tenancy or a periodic tenancy, the duration of the term and the parties’ right to end the tenancy would depend upon the terms of the tenancy.
Where the tenancy would on expiry of the contractual term qualify for rights under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 but no statutory procedures are implemented before the contractual expiry, the contractual term would end and thereafter the tenant would be able to ‘hold over’ on the same terms of the expired tenancy. Holding over is also known as the statutory term. The distinction between contractual term and statutory term/holding over is important because different rules apply when the parties want to end the existing tenancy or grant a new tenancy.
When the tenancy is outside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the tenant would have no legal right to remain in occupation of the premises after the contractual term expiry date. That does not mean that the tenant would necessarily have to vacate, simply there is no legal right to remain in occupation.