Land law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Land law - Essay Example A tenancy agreement vests an interest in the land unlike license agreement whereby the individual is only granted personal interest by the owner of the land and such interest can be revoked at anytime without any notice2. In differentiating tenancy agreements and license, the intention of the parties at to the nature of agreement is irrelevant; the only determining factor is the intention to grant the party exclusive possession of the property3. A license agreement grants the individual a personal privilege which is revocable at the will of the person granting the license. In tenancy agreements, a letter conveying the transfer of interest in the land to the tenant is mainly used as the evidence of exclusive possession of the property. The licensee is required to use the real property according to the terms set out in the license agreement while the licensor remains with the exclusive possession and control of the property. A license only makes acts that would be considered unlawful l ike trespass to be lawful. For instance, a license agreement allows the licensee to walk through the land of another or keep his goods in the land of the licensor without being prosecuted for trespass. A gratuitous license can be revoked by the licensor without any notice if the licensee contravenes the terms set out in the agreement or when the licensor desires to end the license4. A tenancy agreement mainly covers a term not exceeding more than three years but there is no express requirement that it should be executed by a deed. The interest of the tenant in the tenancy agreement is protected from third party interference, even without any formal registration as long as the tenant has paid the market rate rent for the property. Tenancy agreements can be created by contract law or common law. A fixed term tenancy covers a fixed period of time whereby the tenant is required to vacate the premises at the end of the period5. Some tenancies are created by common law whereby the tenancy continues indefinitely until it is terminated by provision of notice. In this type of tenancy, the tenant continues to pay rent in periodic terms until both the landlord and tenant provide each other with a notice of intention to terminate the tenancy. A tenancy at will is another form of tenancy that is created by common law. In this type of tenancy, the tenant will occupy the real property either with express or implied consent of the landlord. This mainly occurs when a pre-existing fixed term tenancy expires and the tenant continues to occupy the property up to the time a new tenancy agreement is created or until the landlord requires the tenant to vacate the property6. Another form of tenancy is tenancy at sufferance which occurs at the end of fixed term tenancy holds over to the property and the landlord does not give an indication of consent or objection of the tenant continuing to occupy the premises. If the landlord requires the tenant to move out of the property, the conti nuing occupancy of the property by such a tenant amounts to trespass. If the tenant pays rent which the landlord accepts, the tenancy changes to periodic tenancy. Tenancy agreements contain covenants and conditions which parties are prohibited from breaching. Covenants impose obligations on one party for the benefit of the other party while conditions refers to even that may occur or not occur leading to the termination of the tenancy. A breach of a covenant will make the landlord