Tenancy at Will & Office Licence Agreements UK Guide

What this document is

A tenancy at will is an arrangement where one party occupies premises belonging to another with consent, but on the understanding that either side can end the occupation at any moment. There is no fixed term. It is often used as a bridging arrangement while a formal lease is being negotiated, or where the parties want occupation to begin before the paperwork is finalised.

Importantly, a properly constructed tenancy at will sits outside the security of tenure protections in Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which is one reason landlords reach for it. A licence to occupy is different in character. It is a personal permission to use premises rather than a grant of an interest in land.

The licensee does not get exclusive possession in the legal sense, which means they cannot exclude the landlord from the space in the same way a tenant could. Licences are common for serviced offices, desk space, pop-up use, and any situation where the landlord wants to keep flexibility and avoid creating a tenancy by accident.

How to use this document

1. Work out what you actually need. Start with the commercial reality. How long is the occupation likely to last? Is there a lease being drafted in the background? Will the occupier have a self-contained unit or share space with others? The answers push you towards one structure or the other, and getting this wrong at the outset tends to cause problems later.
2. Decide between tenancy at will and licence. A tenancy at will suits short bridging occupation where a full lease is expected to follow. A licence tends to fit serviced offices, shared space, or genuinely flexible arrangements where exclusive possession is neither wanted nor appropriate. The label on the document is not decisive. Courts look at the substance of what has been agreed.
3. Set the rent, outgoings, and any service charge. Even a short, flexible arrangement needs clarity on who pays what. Cover the rent, how often it is paid, whether VAT applies, and how business rates, utilities, insurance, and any services such as cleaning or reception are handled. Vague wording here creates disputes very quickly once money starts moving.
4. Address use, access, and ending the arrangement. Spell out what the space can be used for, what hours access is permitted, and how either party brings the occupation to an end. For a tenancy at will, termination can be immediate. For a licence, set out notice periods, what happens to any deposit or advance payment, and what condition the space must be left in.
5. Sign, date, and keep clean records. Both parties should sign a written document before occupation starts. Keep copies of the signed agreement, any inventory or condition schedule, and records of payments. If a full lease is meant to follow, note that clearly so the temporary nature of the arrangement is obvious from the paper trail.

Common questions