Facchini v Bryson [1952] 1 TLR 1386  Court of Appeal

An employer entered into an agreement with his assistant which allowed the assistant to occupy a house in return for a weekly rent. The terms conferred exclusive possession and the assistant did not occupy the house for the better performance of his duty and was not therefore a service occupancy. The agreement contained a provision stating “nothing in this agreement shall be construed to create a tenancy between the employer and the assistant."

Held:

The agreement created a lease rather than a licence.

Somervell LJ:

"If, looking at the operative clauses in the agreement, one comes to the conclusion that the rights of the occupier, to use a neutral word, are those of a lessee, the parties cannot turn it into a licence by saying at the end 'this is deemed to be a licence;' nor can they, if the operative paragraphs show that it is merely a licence, say that it should be deemed to be a lease."

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