... premises". 3 The important factor in distinguishing a lease from a licence consists in the absence of any possession precisely in order to supply services or attendance.4 Provision of attendances and services is not confined to the traditional lodger. In Abbeyfield (Harpenden) Society ltd v Woods (1968)5, the occupier of a room in an old people's home was held to be a licensee despite the fact that he had exclusive possession of his room. Lord Denning decided he was a licensee on the basis that the whole agreement was 'personal in nature', not on the grounds that the occupier didn't have exclusive possession. If this case were to be decided today it would be held that the owner of the old people's home in fact retained a degree of control over the premises such that the occupier could not be said to have exclusive possession.6 The courts look at the grant ...

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