A commercial property licence is a lawful grant of a permission to do something that would otherwise not be legal or allowed, for example, to occupy a property. The licence basically stops the permitted act from being a trespass and offers little security to the licensee. A lease can give security of tenure to a business tenant, however, a licence doesn’t. Like a lease, a licence can attract a monthly rent and be for a fixed term, but it only allows the licensee to use the property for a specific purpose for a defined, usually short, duration. A lease tends to be for fixed, longer periods of time giving exclusive occupation to a tenant.