Chapter 7 License to use Land

What is a license?

A License is the personal, unassignable right held by an individual to the non-exclusive use of property owned by another. -A license is subject to termination at will by the owner of the burdened property, unless it has become irrevocable.

Does the holder of a license pay rent?

A holder of a license does not usually pay rent for the right to use the burdened property. If consideration for the license exists, it is typically in the form of an expenditure of time and money by the licensee to improve or maintain the use authorized on the burdened property.

Fact about license

A license is neither personal property nor real property. -a license is neither owned by a person nor is it an appurtenance to adjoining real estate

What is an irrevocable license?

An irrevocable license is the right to enter and use property when the specific activity granted by the license is maintained by the licensee's on-going expenditure of money or equivalent labor, and remains feasible, maintained by the licensee's on-going expenditure of money or equivalent labor.

Why is a license similar to an easment and a lease?

By granting a license, a property owner transfers rights to use the property to another. A license is similar to an easement and a lease since it transfers a right to use a property, yet it is neither. The use granted by a license is a personal right, not a right held due to ownership of another property.

What are lease characteristics that distinguish it from a lease?

Characteristics which distinguish a license from a lease include: • no writing to formalize the agreement; • no rental payments; • no specific location on or within the property where the use will occur; • no intent to convey a leasehold estate; • no right to exclude others; • no termination date; and • termination at the owner's will, unless the license is irrevocable

What is a dominant tenement?

Dominant tenement is the property benefitting from an easement on a servient tenement.

What is the servient tenement?

Land or a property burdened by a license or easement.

Can a license and a lease co-exist and be held by the same person?

On some occasions, a license and a lease may sometimes co-exist and be held by the same person. For example, a person who is a tenant with exclusive occupancy to part of the space on the premises of a shopping center also holds a license to use an adjacent portion of the premises as well

Does a license have a perpetual life?

Unlike an easement, a license does not have a perpetual life, nor need it have a specific expiration date like a lease. - A license is often oral instead of written.

What is a leasehold estate?

When an agreement with a property owner gives another person an exclusive right to possess the property against all others, including the owner