Periodic tenancy: renews automatically (month-to-month) until proper notice
Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
Of the four leasehold estates, which one gives the tenant the weakest possessory rights?
Answer: D. A tenancy at sufferance is the weakest leasehold; the holdover tenant has no right to remain and may be evicted, only slightly above a trespasser.
Question 2 of 5
Which of the following is NOT one of the freehold estates?
Answer: C. An estate for years is a leasehold (less-than-freehold) estate. Fee simple absolute, fee simple defeasible, and life estates are all freehold estates involving ownership of indeterminate duration.
Question 3 of 5
Which of the following correctly orders the estates from greatest ownership interest to least?
Answer: B. Fee simple absolute is the greatest interest, followed by defeasible fees, then life estates (still freehold), and finally leasehold estates, which convey possession but not ownership.
Question 4 of 5
In lease terminology, the landlord is the ____ and the tenant is the ____.
Answer: A. The lessor (landlord) grants the leasehold to the lessee (tenant).
Question 5 of 5
The landlord's right to retake possession when a lease ends is a:
Answer: A. At lease end the leasehold returns to the landlord — the landlord holds a reversionary interest throughout the lease.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
Must-know rules
- Estate for years: FIXED term, ends automatically — no notice needed (despite the name, can be 1 month)
- Periodic tenancy: renews automatically (month-to-month) until proper notice
- Tenancy at will: either party ends anytime (with statutory notice)
- Tenancy at sufferance: holdover WITHOUT permission — one step from trespasser
- Sale of the property does NOT terminate a lease — buyer takes subject to it
Leasehold Estates — Four Flavors: FAQs
Is Leasehold Estates — Four Flavors on the real estate exam?
Yes. Leasing & Property Management is a scored domain on the real estate licensing exam, and this topic appears in the national portion.
Is this cheat sheet free?
Yes — every page on Cinna RE's resource library is free to read, print and share. The app adds practice questions, mock exams and a readiness score.
