Leases: Falling short?

• While the law permits leases for very short periods—even hours or days—courts frequently interpret them as contractual licences rather than true tenancies.
• The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (when brought into force) will make important changes to residential tenancies, while business tenancies under six months fall outside statutory protection..

Subject to the requirement that a lease must be of certain duration, a ‘term of years absolute’ may relate to any length of time. Indeed, s 205(1)(xxvii) of the Law of Property Act 1925 defines the expression as including a ‘term for less than a year, or for a year or years and a fraction of a year or from year to year’. This suggests that, at least in theory, a tenancy may exist for a very short period of time counted in terms of days or even hours.

Tenancy or licence?

There is authority which supports the notion that a