Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A recovery available to a landlord or incoming tenant against a tenant who remains in possession after lease termination without consent. The amount equals the reasonable rental value of the premises for the holdover period, measured by the prior rent or by independently proven fair market value when that value differs.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Holdover Tenant Pays Higher Market Rate
Oak Ridge Farms leased its barn and pasture to Lena for the growing season at two thousand dollars per month. After the lease expired on October thirty-first Lena kept her equipment and livestock on the property through March without consent. Green Valley Cooperative held a signed lease beginning November first at twenty-six hundred dollars monthly. Oak Ridge and Green Valley sued Lena for the holdover months. The court awarded recovery measured by the higher independently established reasonable rental value of twenty-six hundred dollars per month.
Cable Installation as Permanent Occupation
A landlord leased commercial space to a tenant whose lease ended June 30. The tenant left equipment and continued using the premises through December without consent. An incoming tenant had signed a new lease at a higher monthly rent beginning July 1. The landlord and incoming tenant sued for use and occupation. The court awarded the higher independently proven reasonable rental value for the six-month holdover period.
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Restatements
Casebooks
Hornbooks
Study Supplements
Temporary Flooding Requires Rental Compensation
A landlord leased farmland to a tenant whose lease terminated September 1. The tenant kept crops and equipment on the land through November without consent. An incoming tenant held a lease at a higher rate beginning September 2. The landlord and incoming tenant sued for use and occupation. The court awarded recovery measured by the higher reasonable rental value for the holdover months.
A landlord leased a residence to a tenant whose lease ended March 31. The tenant remained in possession through August without consent while a temporary state law delayed eviction. An incoming tenant had a signed lease at a higher rent beginning April 1. The landlord and incoming tenant sued for use and occupation. The court awarded the higher reasonable rental value for the holdover period.
Zoning Restriction Limits Land Occupation Value
A landlord leased a warehouse to a tenant whose lease terminated December 31. The tenant held over through June without consent. An incoming tenant held a lease at a higher monthly rent beginning January 1. The landlord and incoming tenant sued for use and occupation. The court awarded recovery measured by the higher independently established reasonable rental value for the holdover months.
Street Occupation Requires Just Compensation
A landlord leased retail space to a tenant whose lease ended May 31. The tenant remained in possession through October without consent. An incoming tenant had a signed lease at a higher rent beginning June 1. The landlord and incoming tenant sued for use and occupation. The court awarded the higher reasonable rental value for the holdover period.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
3
What measure of damages applies when a tenant holds over after the lease ends?+
The landlord or incoming tenant recovers the reasonable rental value of the premises for the holdover period. That value is measured by the prior contract rent unless the plaintiff independently proves a different reasonable value.
Supporting sources
Can an incoming tenant recover for use and occupation even without taking possession?+
Yes. The incoming tenant may recover the reasonable rental value for the period the holdover tenant wrongfully occupied the premises and prevented the new tenant from entering.
Supporting sources
Does negotiation between landlord and holdover tenant prevent recovery at a higher rate?+
Active negotiations at the old rent can weaken a claim that a new lease proves a higher reasonable value. The prior rate remains the default unless independent evidence clearly establishes a different value.
Supporting sources
272 U.S. 365, 47 S.Ct. 114, 71 L.Ed 303 (1926)Property
…developed, and constantly are developing, which require, and will continue to require, additional restrictions in respect of the use and occupation of private lands in urban communities. Regulations, the wisdom, necessity and validity of which, as applied to existing conditions, are so apparent that they are now uniformly sustained, a…