Licences and tenancies at will

A licence generally permits someone to do something on another’s property which would otherwise be unlawful. Licences do not generally benefit from the same level of statutory protection that many leases do (such as security of tenure or compensation for improvements).

A tenancy at will is a tenancy which is terminable at the will of either the landlord or the tenant. They are flexible but do not provide either party with any certainty or security.

Licences and tenancies at will are often seen as a way to allow occupation and use of premises on an ‘easy in, easy out’ basis without the need to follow complex statutory procedures.

Types of licence

Licences can be divided into three categories:

•
a bare licence
•
a licence coupled with the grant of an interest
•
a contractual licence

Licences can be expressly created or arise by implication.

For further details on the nature of licences, see Practice Note: Leases and licences

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Latest Property News

Property weekly highlights—14 August 2025

This week's edition of Property weekly highlights includes: a look at the draft Building Safety Levy regulations and cases on the right to manage, perpetually renewable tenancies, rent repayment orders and limitation, postponing the effective date of a new rent, service charge disputes and abuse of process and modification of restrictive covenants.

HMLR announces portal enhancements and upcoming changes

HM Land Registry (HMLR) has announced enhancements to its portal, enabling customers to search for and view first registration applications in the View Applications service, provided the Business Unit Variable Direct Debit account key number was included on submission. The portal homepage information panel has also been modified to display pending, live applications with unresolved requisitions. HMLR has outlined further planned changes, including adding text to the panel to clarify the meaning of ‘unresolved’ in relation to outstanding requisitions, changing the View Applications progress status from ‘Saved’ to ‘Draft’, and making improvements to the portal homepage interface.

Insolvency, declarations of trust, loan agreements, artificial asset protection, sham transactions, transactions defrauding creditors, interspousal asset transfers, change of position defence and wife’s entitlement to share of husband’s assets (Sayers v Dixon)

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The court held that six declarations of trust (DoTs) executed by the transferor (Mr Dixon) in favour of his wife (Mrs Dixon) constituted transactions defrauding his creditors within the meaning of section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) and that two of them, purporting to transfer all his future assets and income to Mrs Dixon, along with an accompanying loan agreement, were shams which were void and ineffective. It set aside the DoTs and ordered Mrs Dixon to restore the value of three transferred properties (which had been converted into £551,589 cash) to Mr Dixon’s trustees in bankruptcy (trustees) together with interest of £101,726. It also ordered an account to be taken of the funds that had been transferred to Mrs Dixon or on her behalf by Mr Dixon over the seven years between the date of the DoTs and his bankruptcy. The court dismissed Mrs Dixon’s defence of change of position to the trustees’ claim for restoration, finding that even if such a defence were generally available (which is unclear), she had not acted in good faith and could not rely on it. It also dismissed her defence that, having been married to Mr Dixon for many years, she was entitled to half his assets and/or an entitlement to a share of them by virtue of a right to be maintained. Written by Jonathan Lopian, barrister at New Square Chambers, who acted for the successful claimants.

Court of Appeal on right to manage, strict procedural compliance and equitable tenancies (Avon Freeholds Limited v Cresta Court E RTM Company Ltd)

Property Disputes analysis: The Court of Appeal held that a right to manage (RTM) company’s claim notice was invalid because the company failed to comply with section 78(1) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002) as it failed to serve an equitable long lessee with a notice inviting participation (participation notice) before serving the claim notice. The Court upheld the Upper Tribunal (UT) (Lands Chamber)’s decision that a tenant of an equitable long lease during the ‘registration gap’ is a ‘qualifying tenant’ within s 75 2002 Act, provided that there is no legal titleholder of that lease. However, the UT had erred in holding that the failure to serve that qualifying tenant with the participation notice did not render the claim notice invalid on the facts of the specific case. Instead, strict compliance is required upon a proper interpretation of the statute, in particular ss 78(1) and 79(2). Written by Sophie Gibson, barrister at Landmark Chambers, junior counsel for the Appellant.