What is a Tenant at Sufferance?

Most people familiar with Massachusetts landlord-tenant law know the two most common types of tenancy agreements: a tenancy by lease, where the parties agree to a fixed term for the length of the tenancy, and a tenancy at will, where either party can end the tenancy with proper notice to the other side. A less commonly known tenancy is a tenancy at sufferance.

What is a Tenant at Sufferance?

A tenant at sufferance is a tenant who “stays past their welcome” and remains in a property without the owner’s permission. This most commonly occurs for tenants who remain in rental property after their leases expire. If the landlord does not give the tenant permission to stay past their lease (and, importantly, does not accept rent from them), the tenant becomes a tenant at sufferance.

What’s the difference between a trespasser and a tenant at sufferance? A tenant at sufferance, importantly, once had the property owner’s permission to stay in the property, but no longer does so. A trespasser, on the other hand, never had the owner’s permission to be in the property.

Practical Implications

Although a tenant at sufferance does not have permission to remain in the rental property, a landlord must still bring a formal eviction case to obtain possession. Unlike evictions for other tenancies, a notice to quit is technically not required. Most courts, however, still prefer that the landlord provide some form of notice to the tenant. A 72 hour notice to quit is most common in these scenarios.

A landlord needs to be careful about accepting money from a tenant if they do not want them to stay in the rental property. Accepting money from a tenant can re-create a formal tenancy between the parties and delay the eviction process. A landlord, however, can accept rental money solely for the purposes of use-and-occupancy, so long as they tell the tenant this in writing before accepting it.

A landlord also needs to continue maintaining rental property for a tenant at sufferance. Even though the tenant is in the rental property past their welcome, Massachusetts law still requires compliance with the state sanitary code.

Conclusion

If you need assistance with a landlord-tenant matter, contact me for a consultation.