Landlord Consent Is Required To Overhold

Introduction

Landlords and tenants often seek advice on what happens when the tenant wishes to remain in the leased premises after the lease term expires, but the parties have not extended or renewed the lease. At law, there is an implied obligation that the tenant must vacate the leased premises when the lease term expires. If the tenant remains in the leased premises after the lease term expires without the landlord's consent, the tenant is generally considered a trespasser. If the tenant remains in the leased premises after the lease term expires with the landlord's consent, a new tenancy is deemed to arise. The term of such new deemed tenancy is either month-to-month (if the expired lease term was less than one year) or year-to-year (if the expired lease term was one year or more), unless the parties have agreed otherwise.