Which party holds the leasehold estate in a real estate transaction?

In a real estate transaction, the tenant holds the leasehold estate. This is because a leasehold estate is essentially the interest that arises from the agreement between the landlord (lessor) and the tenant (lessee) when the tenant rents the property. The lease grants the tenant the right to use and occupy the property for a specified duration in exchange for rent.

The leasehold estate gives the tenant certain rights, including the ability to live in or use the property as agreed in the lease contract, while the landlord retains ownership of the property itself. This dichotomy is crucial in understanding real estate transactions: the landlord retains a freehold estate as the property owner, while the tenant possesses a leasehold estate, reflecting their temporary rights to the property.

Other roles, such as the property owner and the real estate agent, do not have a leasehold estate unless they are the tenant in a landlord-tenant relationship. The property owner has ownership rights but does not hold a leasehold interest in the property they own, and the real estate agent acts as a facilitator in the transaction rather than holding any interest in the estate itself.