Where a lease sets no term, or one shorter than the period the provision provides for, what term is treated as applying, and may the tenant rely on the shorter one?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind, we read the lease contract for the term it states, the papers showing the deposit was paid, and any written notice in which the tenant says which period it wishes to rely on.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the provision as written: a lease with no term agreed, or with a term set shorter than the period the provision provides for, is treated as a lease running for that period, so the lease relationship continues through it.
Another reading rests on the proviso: the tenant may assert that the shorter agreed period is valid, so the deemed period does not simply displace it, and which period governs turns on what the tenant claims.
Your judgment
If the tenant wants the shorter agreed period rather than the deemed one, what in the file would show that claim was made and maintained?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the period the lease is deemed to run for or the tenant's right to assert a shorter one, or if a court decision explains how a tenant asserts that right.