tenancy
n.the legal right to live in or use a building or land that you rent from a landlord. It also refers to the period of time you stay there.
n.the possession or occupancy of lands or buildings by title, under a lease, or on payment of rent. Refers both to the legal status of the occupant and the duration of the occupancy.
“The landlord offered us a one-year tenancy.”
“Before moving in, the students had to sign a formal agreement that outlined the rules of their joint tenancy.”
“The legal dispute centered on whether the occupant had established a secure tenancy through long-term residence or was merely a short-term licensee with fewer protections against eviction.”
Often used in the phrase 'joint tenancy' or 'tenancy agreement'.
Learners sometimes confuse 'tenancy' (the right to occupy) with 'rent' (the payment for that right).
Usage tenancy types
“Certainly, the ability to cut our tenancy short has been a gamechanger over the summer; previously, we had to keep paying rent for rooms we couldn’t stay in.”
From tenant + -cy.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.