## Facts

- In May 1942, Stanmeyer (landlord) orally rented commercial premises in Chicago to Davis (tenant) for use in Davis’s automobile business.
- The rent was \$500 per month, payable monthly.
- The parties described the duration as “for the duration of the war and until automobiles are again produced,” and also “until [Davis] receives twenty-five automobiles in any one month.”
- The arrangement was not reduced to writing and did not specify any fixed calendar termination date or a definite period of months or years.
- In November 1942, Stanmeyer served Davis with written notice terminating the tenancy effective December 31, 1942, and demanded possession on that date.
- Davis refused to surrender possession, asserting that the oral agreement created a valid term lease measured by the stated events.
- Stanmeyer sued to recover possession, and the trial court ruled the agreement created a tenancy at will and awarded possession to Stanmeyer.
- Davis appealed from the judgment for possession.

## Issues

1. Whether an oral commercial lease stated to last “for the duration of the war and until automobiles are again produced” and “until the tenant receives twenty-five automobiles in any one month” creates a valid lease for a definite term under Illinois law.
2. If the term is not legally definite, whether the tenant’s interest is a tenancy at will that the landlord may terminate by notice.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the judgment for Stanmeyer.
- The court held the oral agreement did not create a lease for years (a fixed term) because it contained no certain, ascertainable time when the tenancy would end.
- Because the alleged term was indefinite, Davis held only as a tenant at will.
- Stanmeyer’s notice terminating the tenancy as of December 31, 1942 was effective, and Stanmeyer was entitled to possession.

## Legal Principles

- A lease for a fixed term requires a definite beginning and a definite ending; the time when it will terminate must be ascertainable with certainty from the agreement at the time it is made.
- A purported term measured only by contingencies that may occur at an unknown time—such as “the duration of the war,” the resumption of automobile production, or the tenant’s receipt of a stated number of automobiles—does not supply a certain ending and therefore fails as a term lease.
- When a purported term lease fails for indefiniteness, the occupant’s status is a tenancy at will, which may be ended by the landlord through notice and demand for possession consistent with applicable requirements.

## Conclusion

Because the oral rental agreement tied the end of the tenancy to uncertain future events and provided no certain termination time, it did not create a valid fixed-term lease; instead, it created only a tenancy at will that Stanmeyer could end by notice, so the judgment awarding possession to Stanmeyer was properly affirmed.


Stanmeyer v. Davis, 53 N.E.2d 22 (1944)