See id. EXERCISE OF THE RENEWAL OPTION An option to renew a lease is a unilateral contract under which the lessee retains an irrevocable right to extend the lease during the option period. See American Oil Co. v. Rasar, 203 Tenn. 37, 45, 308 S.W.2d 486, 490 (Tenn.1957); Abou-Sakher v. Humphreys County, 955 S.W.2d 65, 68 (Tenn.Ct.App.1997). The right to renew will be lost, however, if the lessee fails to give timely notice in accordance with the terms of the option. See American Oil Co. v. Rasar, 203 Tenn. at 45, 308 S.W.2d at 490; Corim, Inc. v. Sam Blair Co., Inc., 721 S.W.2d 256, 260-61 (Tenn.Ct.App.1986). The lease in this case did not specify a time period within which City Sign was required to exercise the option to renew. The renewal provision merely pr 146 S.E.2d 97, 100 (1966) (<HOLDING>) TENNESSEE LAW After considering the two
recognizing that a lessees holding over without giving the prescribed notice of renewal gave rise to a presumption that the lessee was exercising the option to renew but also recognizing that in such a situation the lessor could elect to treat the lessee as a trespasser or to waive the notice requirement and treat the lease as having been extended recognizing that a lease providing for renewal at the termination of the lease did not require the lessee to exercise the option before the lease expired nor did it require renewal at the precise hour of termination but gave the lessee a reasonable time after the termination of the lease in which to make his election holding that under an option requiring renewal at the expiration of the lease but providing no more specific time requirement the lessee had a reasonable time to exercise the option within the term of the lease holding that under an option requiring renewal at the expiration of the lease the lessee was required to exercise the option on or before the last day of the lease holding that an option to renew at the expiration of the original lease was effectively exercised because the lessees holding over without express notification of renewal was deemed an election to renew the lease