Lease

A lease is a legal contract, and thus enforceable by all parties under the contract law of the applicable jurisdiction.

In the United States, since it also represents a conveyance of possessory rights to real estate, it is a hybrid sort of contract that involves qualities of a deed.

Some kinds of leases may have specific clauses required by statute depending upon the property being leased, the jurisdiction in which the agreement was signed, and the residence of the parties.

Common elements of a lease agreement include:

• Names of the parties of the agreement.
• The starting date and duration of the agreement.
• Identifies the specific object (by street address, VIN, or make/model, serial number) being leased.
• Provides conditions for renewal or non-renewal.
• Has a specific consideration (a lump sum, or periodic payments) for granting the use of this object.
• Has provisions for a security deposit and terms for its return.
• May have a specific list of conditions which are therein described as Default Conditions and specific Remedies.
• May have other specific conditions placed upon the parties such as:
  • Need to provide insurance for loss.
  • Restrictive use.
  • Which party is responsible for maintenance.
• Termination clause (describing what will happen if the contract is ended early or cancelled by either of the parties, stating the rights of parties to terminate the lease, and their obligations)

All kinds of personal property (e.g. cars and furniture) or real property (e.g. raw land, apartments, single family homes, and business property, which includes wholesale and retail) may be leased. As a result of the lease, the owner (lessor) grants the use of the stated property to the lessee.

The narrower term 'tenancy' describes a lease in which the tangible property is land (including at any vertical section such as airspace, storey of building or mine). A premium is an amount paid by the tenant for the lease to be granted or to secure the former tenant's lease, often in order to secure a low rent, in long leases termed a ground rent. For parts of buildings it is most common for users to pay also by collateral contract, or by the same contract, a service charge which is normally an express list of services in a lease to minimize disputes over service charges. A gross lease or tenancy stipulates a rent that is for the global amount due including all service charges.

A cancelable lease (UK: determinable/breakable lease) is a lease that may be terminated (formally determined) solely by the lessee or solely by the lessor without penalty. A mutually determinable lease can be determined by either. A non-cancelable lease is a lease that cannot be so terminated. Commonly, "lease" may imply a non-cancelable lease, whereas "rental agreement" may connote a cancelable lease.

Influenced by land registration, commonly tenancies initially granted for more than a year are referred to more simply as leases.[6]

The lease will either provide specific provisions regarding the responsibilities and rights of the lessee and lessor, or there will be automatic provisions as a result of local law. In general, by paying the negotiated fee to the lessor, the lessee (also called a tenant) has possession and use (the rental) of the leased property to the exclusion of the lessor and all others except with the invitation of the tenant. The most common form of real property lease is a residential rental agreement between landlord and tenant.[7] As the relationship between the tenant and the landlord is called a tenancy, this term generally is also used for informal and shorter leases. The right to possession by the tenant is sometimes called a leasehold interest. A lease can be for a fixed period of time (called the term of the lease). A lease may be terminated sooner than its end date by:

• Break/cancellation (this depends upon the terms of the lease)
• A negotiated deed of surrender or yielding-up.
• Forfeiture
• By operation of statute (rare)

A lease should be contrasted with a license, which may entitle a person (called a licensee) to use property, but which is subject to termination at the will of the owner of the property (called the licensor). An example of a licensor/licensee relationship is a parking lot owner and a person who parks a vehicle in the parking lot. A license may be seen in the form of a ticket to a baseball game or a verbal permission to sleep a few days on a sofa. The difference is that if there is a term (end time), a degree of privacy suggestive of exclusive possession of a clearly defined part, practised ongoing, recurrent payments, a lack of right to terminate save for misconduct or nonpayment, these factors tend toward a lease; by contrast, a one-time entrance onto someone else's property is probably a license. The seminal difference between a lease and a license is that a lease generally provides for regular periodic payments during its term and a specific ending date. If a contract has no ending date then it may be in the form of a perpetual license and still not be a lease.

Under normal circumstances, owners of property are at liberty to do what they want with their property (for a lawful purpose), including dealing with it or handing over possession of the property to a tenant for a limited period of time. If an owner has granted possession to another (i.e., the tenant) then any interference with the quiet enjoyment of the property by the tenant in lawful possession is itself unlawful.

Similar principles apply to real property as well as to personal property, though the terminology differs. The right to sub-lease may or may not be permitted to a tenant. Where it is permitted, the lease granted directly by the owner is called a "headlease", or sometimes a "master lease". Headlease tenants and their tenants who may in turn also sublet are termed mesne /miːn/ landlords from the old French for middle. The headlease tenant has no right to grant a sublease which extends beyond the end of the headlease.[8]

To circumvent privity of estate which is the general principle flowing from privity of contract, laws exist in several jurisdictions to bind subtenants to some of the restrictive covenants (terms) of the headlease, for instance in England and Wales those which have been held by courts to touch and concern the land.[9]

A transfer of a remaining interest in a lease, assignment, is a type of (alienation) is often possible and an implied rights to assign exist by compulsory law or as a default position in some jurisdictions. Sharing or parting with possession can be a breach of certain leases resulting in action for forfeiture.

Enfranchisement is the obtaining of the landlord's title and is most commonly negotiated with the landlord where a tenant pays only a ground rent. Merger is where the landlord and tenant happen to be the same and can terminate a lease where there are no subtenants in certain jurisdictions.

In the United States a lessee may negotiate a right of first refusal clause into their land or property lease giving them the right to make a purchase offer on the property before the leasor can negotiate with third-party buyers. This gives tenants the ability to commit to a piece of property before any other potential buyers have the opportunity.[10][11]

Over the centuries, leases have served many purposes and the nature of legal regulation has varied according to those purposes and the social and economic conditions of the times. Leases, for example, were mainly used for agricultural purposes until the late 18th century and early 19th century when the growth of cities in industrialized countries made leases an important form of landholding in urban areas.

The modern law of landlord and tenant in common law jurisdictions retains the influence of the common law and, particularly, the laissez-faire philosophy that dominated the law of contract and property law in the 19th century. With the growth of consumerism, consumer protection legislation recognized that common law principles, which assume equal bargaining power between the contracting parties, create hardships when that assumption is inaccurate. Consequently, reformers have emphasized the need to assess residential tenancy laws in terms of protection they provide to tenants. Legislation to protect tenants is now common. Consequently, Common law has treated Lease as not similar or equivalent to a common commercial contract, especially in regard to the question of whether a Lease Agreement can be terminated by notice, in the same way and manner as a usual commercial contract.

Formal requirements for a lease are determined by the law and custom of the jurisdiction in which real property is located. In the case of personal property, it is determined by the law and custom of the jurisdiction in which the rental agreement is made.

A tenancy for a duration greater than one year must be in writing in order to satisfy the Statute of Frauds.

In addition to the above, a car rental agreement may include various restrictions on the way a renter can use a car, and the condition in which it must be returned. For example, some rentals cannot be driven off-road, or out of the country, or towing a trailer, without specific permission. In New Zealand you may have to specifically endorse a promise that the car will not be driven onto Ninety-Mile Beach (because of the hazardous tides).

There will certainly be a requirement to show a driver's license, and only those drivers appearing on the contract may be authorized to drive. It may include an option to purchase auto insurance (UK: motor insurance), if the renter does not already have a policy to cover rentals—another important consideration for multiple drivers. Some agencies may even require a bond payable if the car is not returned in order, often held in the form of a credit-card authorization—voided if the car is returned per agreement. A renter should be advised that he or she will be responsible for any tolls, parking or traffic violations incurred upon the vehicle during the rental period. There should also be advice on handling thefts, accidents, break-downs, and towing.

Further terms may include added fees for late returns, drop-off at a different location, or failure to top up the petrol immediately before the return.

Finally, there may be provisions for making a non-refundable deposit with a booking, terms for payment of the initial period (with discounts, vouchers, etc.), extended periods, and any damages or other fees that accrue prior to the return.

A rental agreement is often called a lease, especially when real estate is rented. Real estate rentals are initiated by a rental application which is used to build the terms of the lease. In addition to the basics of a rental (who, what, when, how much), a real estate rental may go into much more detail on these and other issues. The real estate may be rented for housing, parking vehicles, storage, business, agricultural, institutional, or government use, or other reasons.

• Who: The parties involved in the contract, the lessor (sometimes called the owner or landlord) and the lessee (sometimes called the renter or tenant) are identified in the contract. A housing lease may specify whether the renter is living alone, with family, children, roommate, visitors. A rental may delineate the rights and obligations of each of these. For example, a "sub-let" to a stranger might not be permitted without permission of the landlord. This also applies to whether or not pets may be kept by the renter. On the other hand, the renter may also have specific rights against intrusions by the landlord (or other tenants), except under emergency circumstances. A renter is in possession of the property, and a landlord would be trespassing upon the renter's rights if entry is made without proper notice and authority (e.g., 24 hours' notice, daytime, knock first, except for emergency repairs, in case of fire, flood, etc.).
• What: Rented real estate may include all or part of almost any real property, such as an apartment, house, building, business offices or suite, land, farm, or merely an inside or outside space to park a vehicle, or store things. The premises rented may include not only specific rooms, but also access to other common areas such as off-street parking, basement or attic storage, laundry facility, pool, roof-deck, balconies, etc. The agreement may specify how and when these places may be used, and by whom. There may be detailed description of the current condition of the premises, for comparison with the condition at the time the premises are surrendered.
• When: the term of the rental may be for a night (e.g., a hotel room), weeks, months, or years. There may be statutory provisions requiring registration of any rental that could extend for more than a specified number of years (e.g., seven) in order to be enforceable against a new landlord.

A typical rental is either annual or month-to-month, and the amount of rent may be different for long-term renters (because of lower turnover costs). Leaving a long-term lease before its expiration could result in penalties, or even the cost of the entire agreed period (if the landlord is unable to find a suitable replacement tenant, after diligent pursuit). If a tenant stays beyond the end of a lease for a term of years (one or more), then the parties may agree that the lease will be automatically renewed, or it may simply convert to a tenancy at will (month-to-month) at the pro-rated monthly cost of the previous annual lease. If a tenant at will is given notice to quit the premises, and refuses to do so, the landlord then begins eviction proceedings. In many places it is completely illegal to change locks on doors, or remove personal belongings, let alone forcibly eject a person, without a court order of eviction. There may be strict rules of procedure, and stiff penalties (triple damages, plus attorneys' fees) for violations.

• How much: Rent may be payable monthly, annually, or in advance, or as otherwise agreed. A typical arrangement for tenancy at will is "first and last month's rent" plus a security deposit. The "last month's rent" is rent that has yet to be earned by the landlord.

In real estate law, sublease (or, less formally, sublet) is the name given to an arrangement in which the lessee (e.g. tenant) in a lease assigns the lease to a third party, thereby making the old lessee the sublessor, and the new lessee the sublessee, or subtenant. This means they are not only leasing the property, but also subleasing it simultaneously.[15] For example, if a company leases an office space directly from a landlord, the lessor, and subsequently outgrows the office, then the company can sublease the smaller office space to another company, the subtenant, and enter into a new lease for a larger office space, thereby hedging their real estate exposure.

The sublessor remains liable to the original lessor in accordance with the initial lease, including all remaining rent payments, including operating expenses and all other original lease terms. In a down-market, the original lessee may require a lower rent payment from the sublessee than what he or she may have originally paid, leaving the remaining rent owed to the lessor to be paid by the original lessee. However, if market prices have increased since the original lease was signed, the sublessor might be able to secure a higher rent price than what is owed the original lessor. However, many commercial leases stipulate that any overages in rent be shared with the landlord, the lessor.

In residential real estate, it is sometimes illegal to charge the subtenant more than the original amount in the sublessee's contract (for instance, in a rent control situation where the rental amount is controlled by law). Subletting of social housing is generally illegal, whatever the rent charged to the subtenant; in the UK it is officially described as a category of housing fraud.[16] In New York the subletting of Mitchell-Lama cooperatives is illegal. Mitchell-Lama residents must maintain a primary residence to remain in their cooperative.[17]

A sublease can also apply to vehicles as an alternate type of car rental. In a vehicle sublease, a lessee or vehicle owner can assign a lease to a third party and by way of contractual agreement for specific dates. Although this arrangement is not popular, it is a growing trend in the travel industry as a less expensive alternative for travelers and locals.

Leasing is also used as a form of financing to acquire equipment for use and purchase.[18] Many organizations and companies use lease financing for the acquisition and use of many types of equipment, including manufacturing and mining machinery, vessels and containers, construction and off-road equipment, medical technology and equipment, agricultural equipment, aircraft, rail cars and rolling stock, trucks and transportation equipment, business, retail and office equipment, IT equipment and software.[18]

Lease financing for equipment is generally provided by banks, captives and independent finance companies.[19][20]

• Ecoleasing
• Finance lease
• Leasehold estate
• Leasehold valuation tribunal
• Leveraged lease
• Operating lease
• Recital (law)
• Renting
• Vehicle leasing

Look up sublease or sublet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Lease Journal Entries