Legal Definitions - sufferance

Definition: Sufferance refers to the act of tolerating or passively consenting to something. It can also refer to the state of holding land without the owner's permission or a license implied from the omission to enforce a right.

• When the teacher allowed the students to use their phones during class, it was an act of sufferance.
• If someone is living on a property without the owner's permission, they are said to be in a state of sufferance.
• If a landlord fails to enforce a lease agreement, they may be giving their tenant a license to continue living there, which is known as sufferance.

The examples illustrate the different ways in which sufferance can be applied. In the first example, the teacher is tolerating the use of phones in class. In the second example, the person living on the property is doing so without permission, but the owner is passively allowing it. In the third example, the landlord is not enforcing their rights, which is giving the tenant permission to continue living there.