Occupancy refers to living in or using premises or property as a customary and usual place of habitation to which return is contemplated after temporary absence (Travers v. Universal Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., 34 S.W.3d 156 (Mo. App. 2000)). Tenant and owners can have occupancies of properties, but people who lives in or uses abandoned property with the intention of acquiring ownership can also have occupancies of properties. The opposite of occupancy, or lack of occupancy, is a vacancy. Cities may regulate the occupancy rate or occupancy type (such as residential use or commercial use) of a property.
[Last updated in August of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]