Periodic Tenancy

A periodic tenancy is a lease agreement that has no set end date. It automatically renews at the end of each “period”: it can be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even yearly. A month-to-month agreement is the most common type of periodic tenancy, however. Periodic tenancies can be established by a written, signed lease agreement—but, more commonly, they are created through a verbal agreement and don’t involve a written lease.

A periodic tenancy ends when either the tenant or the landlord notifies the other person that they’d like to terminate the agreement. Typically, notice must be given at least a month in advance for month-to-month leases, although the exact requirements vary depending on state law.

By contrast, a fixed-term tenancy lasts for a set amount of time (usually a year) and can’t be easily terminated before the end date included in the lease.