Exclusive Possession
- Exclusive Possession is a principle established in the case of Street v Mountford
- Exclusive Possession means that one or a number of joint occupiers have the exclusive use of at least some part of a property.
- The landlord is excluded (inspections and viewing by permission of the tenant - not the landlord)
- The landlord is paid rent.
- A bark room is unlikely to qualify.
- A room in a house with shared toilet and kitchen may qualify.
- Such circumstances can determine the type of tenancy held by the tenants irrespective of the title of the tenancy.
- If the property is called a license (with almost no rights) but has exclusive use of a significant part of a property, then it is not a licence but a lease (with significantly more rights).
- The occupier is either the tenant or the license.
See also
Published: 24 September 2015 Last Updated: 17 November 2021