Northfield Investment Co. v. United Way of America

In this landlord-tenant dispute, the tenant held over after the expiration of the lease, occupying a part of the premises for a part of a month. The landlord sought to recover the contract rent for the entire premises for a full month. The tenant contended that it was liable only for rent prorated for that part of the premises occupied after the expiration of the lease, and prorated for the period of the hold-over occupancy.

In 1980, United Way of America owned a commercial building in Alexandria containing approximately 56,500 square feet of rentable floor space. Planning to erect a larger…