Also known as: no-term lease · no term lease · no term leases · tenancy at will · periodic tenancy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A lease containing no stated duration that is presumed to create a tenancy at will terminable at the will of either party upon notice.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Nova Pharmaceuticals secured a lease over mineral rights from Noreen Nguyen allowing repeated delay rental payments to hold the acreage without drilling. After two years of payments with no production, Noreen notified Nova that the arrangement ended. The court treated the lease as creating only a tenancy at will because the indefinite extension option lacked a fixed term or production obligation.
Northstar Logistics obtained rights from Nolan Nunez under a lease containing a clause allowing the lessee to remove equipment and declare the instrument void at any time. When Northstar stopped operations and reconveyed the premises, Nolan sought to enforce continued obligations. The court held the lease created only an estate at will because the termination power rendered it terminable by either party.
When a lease contains no stated duration and no periodic rent is reserved, the Restatement presumes a tenancy at will terminable at the will of either party upon notice.
A standard lease requires production or drilling within the primary term to extend the lease, whereas a no-term lease permits perpetual holding through delay rentals alone without any production duty.