Landlord and Tenant: An Introductory Lesson

This lesson provides an introductory overview of landlord-tenant law, including: the historical origins of non-freehold estates; basic vocabulary of landlord-tenant law; including the concept of rent; the significance of leases as a mechanism for gaining the right to use and possess land; and the conveyance and contract theories of landlord-tenant law as alternative approaches for fashioning legal rules.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Define the following terms: Leasehold, Lease, Landlord a/k/a Lessor, Tenant a/k/a Lessee, Rent, Accrual of Rent.
2. Define the following tenancies/leasehold estates: Tenancy for Years, Periodic Tenancy, Tenancy at Will, Tenancy at Sufferance,
3. Define the following terms: Sublease, Sublandlord a/k/a Sublessor, Subtenant a/k/a Sublessee, Prime Lease a/k/a Main Lease.
4. Identify the three main reasons leases typically are valuable to the parties.
5. Explain and compare the contract theory and conveyance theory as applied to the landlord-tenant relationship.