how a tenancy at will works
tenants who have permission from their landlords to reside in a property but don t have leases generally have a tenancy at will these tenancies are sometimes called month to month or at will agreements there s no formal contract specifying the length of time during which the tenancy will take place a tenancy at will defines the relationship between the landlord and tenant when strict terms such as those contained within a lease agreement aren t present or are defective terms may have expired a tenancy at will agreement may also be created at the beginning of the landlord tenant relationship tenancies at will are effective if there s an oral agreement instead of a written one between the two parties or if there s a written agreement stating either that the tenancy is on a month to month basis or there s no specified timeline they can also be effective if the tenancy is continued after the original lease expires but a new one hasn t yet been signed 1tenancies at will generally involve parties who are known to each other they may take place between family members in some cases tenancy at will protectionsboth parties are afforded certain legal protections governing the relationship even in the absence of a written agreement for example the landlord must provide a safe environment as required by law the landlord must also provide notice before entering the tenant occupied property as governed by local statutes 2the tenant also has certain unspoken responsibilities that they must fulfill even under a tenancy at will rent payments must be made and the tenant must adhere to any rules they ve agreed upon with the landlord the tenant is also responsible for any damages beyond normal wear and tear on the property both parties must follow local regulations when it comes to vacating or having the property vacated a notice to vacate is normally required to terminate a tenancy at will even though there s no formal agreement vacating a tenancy at willa tenancy at will arrangement may not have written and agreed upon requirements regarding notification of intention to vacate but terms are generally spelled out within local landlord tenant regulations it s not uncommon for a 30 day notice to apply to both the tenant and the landlord thirty days notice must be provided to the other party if the tenant intends to vacate or if the landlord wants the tenant to vacate a reason for the request to vacate is not required to be cited by either party the notice is traditionally provided in writing landlords in an at will arrangement in maine can evict tenants without giving a reason but they must give a 30 day written notice of the intended eviction but certain circumstances can allow a landlord to give a tenant a seven day notice to vacate in a tenancy at will agreement in this state these circumstances can include serious damage to the premises being a perpetrator of domestic violence or sexual assault and being at least seven days in arrears for rent 3there are also circumstances when a tenancy at will can be terminated without the need for a notice to vacate the tenancy agreement is nullified if the tenant or property owner dies or if the landlord decides to sell the property other types of tenanciesthe most common type of tenancy is a tenancy for years in which the rental agreement is for a fixed period it has a specified beginning and termination date at which point the tenant is expected to vacate the premises the lease s end date is already set so there s generally no need for a notice to vacate but the landlord may choose to renew the lease a periodic tenancy allows a tenant to remain within the property for an undetermined period because the lease has no set end date the lease typically stipulates when notice to vacate is required however and both parties are bound to adhere to that clause 