Tenancy at will or 1954 Act protected tenancy?

Tenants frequently enter into occupation on an undocumented basis. They shouldn’t, but they do. Property lawyers are then left to work out the precise nature of the occupation agreement entered into. Is it a tenancy at will, falling firmly outside the 1954 Act? The Recorder thought so in Manton Securities Limited v Nazam [2008] EWCA Civ 805 despite a period of occupation running from 1998 to the present day. Or is the tenant, paying rent on a quarterly basis, a 1954 Act protected periodic tenant (but without the ability to serve a section 26 request)? The third way identified in this case was that the tenant had a fixed term equitable lease by estoppel as a result of expenditure on the premises that the tenant had been encouraged to incur. Full practical analysis of this case will appear in the August issue of the CPI Update. The case itself is at: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2008/805.rtf