Leasing is a process by which a firm can obtain the use of a certain fixed assets for which it must pay a series of contractual, periodic, tax deductible payments. The lessee is the receiver of the services or the assets under the lease contract and the lessor is the owner of the assets. The relationship between the tenant and the landlord is called a tenancy , and can be for a fixed or an indefinite period of time (called the term of the lease). The consideration for the lease is called rent . A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership
Under normal circumstances, an owner of property is at liberty to do what they want with their property, including destroy it or hand over possession of the property to a tenant. However, if the owner has surrendered possession to another (ie the tenant) then any interference with the quiet enjoyment of the property by the tenant in lawful possession is unlawful.
Similar principles apply to real property as well as to personal property, though the terminology would be different. Similar principles apply to sub-leasing, that is the leasing by a tenant in possession to a sub-tenant. The right to sub-lease can be expressly prohibited by the main lease.
Formality of a lease
A tenancy for years greater than 1 year must be in writing in order to satisfy the Statute of Frauds.
Term of a lease
The term of the lease may be fixed, periodic or of indefinite duration.
If it is for a specified period of time, the term ends automatically when the period expires, and no notice needs to be given, in the absence of legal requirements.
The term's duration may be conditional, in which case it lasts until some specified event occurs, such as the death of a specified individual.
A periodic tenancy is one which is renewed automatically, usually on a monthly or weekly basis.
A tenancy at will lasts only as long as the parties wish it to, and be terminated without penalty by either party.
It is common for a lease to be extended on a "holding over" basis, which normally converts the tenancy to a periodic tenancy on a month by month basis.
Rent
Rent is a requirement of leases in common law jurisdiction, but not in civil law jurisdiction. There is no requirement for the rent to be a commercial amount. "Pepper corn" rent or rent of some nominal amount is adequate for this requirement.
Leasing of real property
(See rental agreement and leasehold estate for more detail.)
There are different types of ownership for land but, in common law states, the most common form is the fee simple absolute , where the legal term fee has the old meaning of real property, i.e. real estate. An owner of the fee simple holds all the rights and privileges to that property and, subject to the laws, codes, rules and regulations of the local law, can sell or by contract or grant, permit another to have possession and control of the property through a lease or tenancy agreement. For this purpose, the owner is called the lessor or landlord, and the other person is called the lessee or tenant, and the rights to possess and control the land are exchanged for some payment (called consideration in legal English), usually a monthly rent. The acceptance of rent by the landowner from a tenant creates (or extends) most of the rights of tenancy even without a written lease (or beyond the time limit of an expiring lease). Although leases can be oral agreements that are periodic, i.e. extended indefinitely and automatically, written leases should always define the period of time covered by the lease. In the 1930s, the British government introduced infinite leases, only to remove the power to create these in the early 1990s. A lease may be:
- a fixed-term agreement, in other words one of these two:
- for a specified period of time (the "term"), and end when the term expires;
- conditional, i.e. last until some specified event occurs, such as the death of a specified individual; or
- a periodic agreement, in other words renewed automatically
- usually on a monthly or weekly basis
- at will , i.e. last only as long as the parties wish it to, and be terminated without penalty by either party.
Because ownership is retained by the lessor, he or she always has the better right to enforce all the contractual terms and conditions affecting the use of the land. Normally, the contract will be express (i.e. set out in full and, hopefully, plain language), but where a contract is silent or ambiguous, terms can be implied by a court where this would make commercial sense of the transaction between the parties. One important right that may or may not be allowed the lessee, is the ability to create a sublease or to assign the lease, i.e. to transfer control to a third party. Hence, the builder of an office block may create a lease of the whole in favour of a management company that then finds tenants for the individual units and gives them control.
Under common law, a lease should have three essential characteristics:
- A definite term (whether fixed or periodic)
- At a rent
- confer exclusive possession
Leasing of tangible personal property
An owner can allow another the use of a vehicle (such as vehicle leasing of a car, a truck or an airliner) or a computer either for a fixed period of time or at will. This can be a simple leasing transaction, or it can be a transaction intended to allow the user the right to buy the item at some future time.
- In a simple lease (rental) of a car, P pays O a rental for the use of the car during the agreed period which may be a few days (e.g. for a holiday trip) or longer where it is more economic to pay for use rather than pay for the ownership of an asset of depreciating value. Normally, only P will be allowed to use the vehicle and, in such a case, P has possession and control. But, P could be an employer who allows C the use of the car to visit clients, and thereby gives C control.
- In a lease with the possibility of purchase, O could allow P to lease the car for a specified period of time. If all the rental payments are made in full, P will then be allowed to buy the car at the contractual purchase option price. In a consumer lease subject to the federal Consumer Leasing Act and the Truth in Lending Act, the purchase option price can not be a "bargain" purchase, that is, it cannot be less than the originally estimated fair market value. A "bargain" purchase creates an installment sale, to which the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) applies including the standardized disclosures, most importantly the Annual Percentage Rate (APR). Typically, the vehicle dealer or other personal property seller offers the leasing terms and contract of a third party finance company. Hence, O leases the vehicle to P, and upon execution of the contract simultaneously sells ownership of the car to F and assigns the lease contract to F. It is standard for the contractual terms to prohibit P from parting with possession or control of the car to another (if P does part with possession, this can be a theft of the car from F).
There are two principal types of leasing, depending upon the party taking the risk of the value of the vehicle (or other leased property) at lease end. In the U.S. this is called Closed-end leasing. In other jurisdictions, it is called hire purchase, lease purchase or finance leasing. These transactions are complicated. The most common problem arises when O makes specific representations as to the quality and reliability of the car to P during the initial negotiations. If what is said induces P to buy the car from O, those representations would usually be enforceable against O. But, in this transaction, O first sells the car to F who makes no representations to P. The laws vary from state to state on the extent to which P might be allowed a remedy if the car proves to be of poor quality.
To clarify the concept, the owner of tangible movables has the power to keep possession and only to transfer control. This may be for:
- short- or long-term storage (e.g. leaving a passport with hotel staff or depositing valuable property in a bank vault — a hotel or bank holding property is a bailee); or
- for delivery purposes (e.g. using a carrier to transport goods to a specific destination); or
- it may be a form of mortgage — a pawnshop holds a pledge over the goods deposited until the money lent is repaid.
Leasing is a common method by which airlines acquire their aircraft, usually from companies specialised in the field of Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing. Aircraft leasing transactions are typically divided into finance leasing and operating leasing.
Businesses often choose to lease rather than buy office equipment, including computers. Since office equipment depreciates rapidly, leasing can be more cost-efficient than ownership.
In addition, more and more unconventional items are becoming available for lease, such as handbags and luxury watches.
Real leases
Whether it is better to lease or buy land will be determined by each state's legal and economic systems. In those countries where acquiring title is complicated, the state imposes high taxes on owners, transaction costs are high, and finance is difficult to obtain, leasing will be the norm. But, freely available credit at
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