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Real Property • Landlord-Tenant
PROP#066
Legal Definition
A new tenancy will not result where (1) the tenant remains in possession for only a few hours after termination and leaves a few articles of personal property, (2) the delay is not the tenant's fault, or (3) it is a seasonal lease.
Plain English Explanation
The purpose of the hold-over doctrine is to recognize the impact that hold-over tenants have on a landlord. In other words, landlords make a living by renting out property they own to people who give them money and it isn't fair for a tenant to disrupt a landlord's business by staying beyond their agreed upon period. However, the law wants to be fair to tenants as well. Thus, the hold-over doctrine will not create a new tenancy in the following hold-over situations:
(1) When the period of "holding over" is only a few hours or so, or if a few items of personal property are left behind. For example, if a lease is to expire at 5pm on March 1st and the tenant is still packing stuff up and doesn't leave until 6pm on March 1st, this doesn't give the landlord the right to bind the tenant to a new lease under the hold-over doctrine. Likewise, if a tenant leaves behind a few shirts in the closet, this isn't enough to trigger the hold-over doctrine. Contrast this to a scenario where a tenant leaves all of their property behind, then this would constitute a hold-over and trigger the hold-over doctrine because it's not up to the landlord to warehouse a tenant's property for free.
(2) If the tenant is holding-over due to reasons that are not their fault, the hold-over doctrine doesn't apply. For example, if tenants are required to move out on February 1st, but a large blizzard dumps 5 feet of snow and prevents anyone from leaving their homes, then it wouldn't be very nice to force the tenants into a new lease.
(3) If the tenant has a seasonal lease, which defines the period of possession as a season and not specific months, then it becomes harder to define when a season has officially ended and when a tenant is "holding-over" into a different season.
(1) When the period of "holding over" is only a few hours or so, or if a few items of personal property are left behind. For example, if a lease is to expire at 5pm on March 1st and the tenant is still packing stuff up and doesn't leave until 6pm on March 1st, this doesn't give the landlord the right to bind the tenant to a new lease under the hold-over doctrine. Likewise, if a tenant leaves behind a few shirts in the closet, this isn't enough to trigger the hold-over doctrine. Contrast this to a scenario where a tenant leaves all of their property behind, then this would constitute a hold-over and trigger the hold-over doctrine because it's not up to the landlord to warehouse a tenant's property for free.
(2) If the tenant is holding-over due to reasons that are not their fault, the hold-over doctrine doesn't apply. For example, if tenants are required to move out on February 1st, but a large blizzard dumps 5 feet of snow and prevents anyone from leaving their homes, then it wouldn't be very nice to force the tenants into a new lease.
(3) If the tenant has a seasonal lease, which defines the period of possession as a season and not specific months, then it becomes harder to define when a season has officially ended and when a tenant is "holding-over" into a different season.
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