🔒 Navigating the Fine Lines: Leases vs Licenses

Law Sessions With Jennifer Housen’s Podcast

Subscriber-only episode

The complex legal distinctions between leases and licenses hinge primarily on exclusive possession, with important exceptions for family arrangements, charitable acts, and work accommodations that prevent a lease from forming despite exclusive occupation.
• Exclusive possession generally indicates a lease, but exceptions exist for family arrangements, acts of friendship/charity, lodger scenarios, and work-related accommodation
• A valid lease requires a "certain term" with fixed beginning and end dates known to both parties at creation
• Leases contingent on unpredictable future events (like "duration of war" or "until landlord needs the property") are generally void for uncertainty
• While rent/consideration was traditionally viewed as essential, modern cases show it may be relevant but not always decisive
• The Bruton case controversially established that entities with only a license can grant leases, creating the concept of "non-proprietary leases"
• Two categories now exist: proprietary leases creating an estate in land, and contractual/personal leases that don't
• Many questions remain unresolved about how non-proprietary leases function and affect third parties
💡⚖️ Let’s learn the law together—one session at a time!

Chapters

1. Navigating the Fine Lines: Leases vs Licenses (00:00:00)

2. Intro and Exclusive Possession Exceptions (00:00:10)

3. Family Arrangements and Lodger Scenarios (00:02:17)

4. The Requirement of a Certain Term (00:05:26)

5. Rent and Consideration Requirements (00:10:01)

6. Public Sector Housing and the Bruton Case (00:12:14)

7. Proprietary vs Non-Proprietary Leases (00:16:31)