tenancy

American  

[ten-uhn-see] / ˈtɛn ən si /

noun

tenancies plural

1. a holding, as of lands, by any kind of title; occupancy of land, a house, or the like, under a lease or on payment of rent; tenure.

2. the period of a tenant's occupancy.

3. occupancy or enjoyment of a position, post, situation, etc..

   her tenancy as professor of history at the state university.

4. Archaic. a piece of land held by a tenant; holding.

---

tenancy British  

/ ˈtɛnənsɪ /

noun

1. the temporary possession or holding by a tenant of lands or property owned by another

2. the period of holding or occupying such property

3. the period of holding office, a position, etc

4. property held or occupied by a tenant

---

Etymology

Origin of tenancy

First recorded in 1570–80; ten(ant) + -ancy; compare Medieval Latin tenantia, variant of tenentia

Explanation

Tenancy is the act of living somewhere, especially in a house, building, or apartment. You could say, for example, that your tenancy in the little white farmhouse lasted for six years, until you moved to the city. The noun tenancy means a period of living in a certain place or having a business in a specific building. If you give up your tenancy, you move to a new place, and if your tenancy ends earlier than you expected, you may owe your landlord some money. The word tenancy is closely related to tenant, with its earliest meaning of "one who holds land," from a Latin root — tenere, "to keep" or "to hold."

Example Sentences

But an experimental data project to try to detect them has been developed by Ben Yarrow, who runs the landlord and letting agency review website, Marks Out Of Tenancy.

From BBC • Aug. 1, 2025

Tenancy in common allows you both to have rights to the property but can be divided into different shares.

From Slate • Dec. 8, 2022

He’s received a voucher but needs to fill out his Request for Tenancy Approval.

From Washington Post • Dec. 5, 2022

Tenancy, as “Home” stunningly illustrates, observes the same pattern.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2020

Tenancy by right of dower is the wife's right during her life to the use of one-third of the husband's real estate from his death.

From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady