LEASE

10 definitions found across Law Mind sources

LEASEAuthored
The Law Mind • 1534 words
Definition
A lease is a conveyance of a possessory interest in real or personal property from one party (the lessor) to another (the lessee), for a defined period or at will, ordinarily in exchange for rent or other agreed compensation. The lessor retains a reversionary interest — the property returns to the lessor when the lease term ends. Unlike a sale, a lease does not transfer ownership; it transfers the right to possess and use. Several attributes are foundational: the lease must be for a term shorter than the interest the lessor holds; it creates a landlord-tenant relationship; and it typically carries an obligation of rent, though courts have implied leases in some circumstances even without express rental terms. A lease functions simultaneously as a contract (governed by contract law principles) and as a conveyance (governed by property law). This dual character is not merely academic — it affects remedies, enforceability, and the rights of third parties, including mortgagees and subsequent purchasers. ---
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): To gather, pick out, glean, or pick up leavings. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): To gather what harvesters have left behind; to glean. Marked as obsolete. The common English word "lease" and the legal term share no meaningful relationship. The common forms derive from an entirely separate root meaning to glean or gather. Researchers encountering "lease" in older non-legal texts should not assume the property-law meaning. Conversely, those working in legal sources will find no trace of the gleaning sense. ---
Common Confusion
LEASE vs. LICENSE: A lease conveys an exclusive possessory interest that runs with the land and is enforceable against third parties. A license conveys only a personal, revocable permission to use property — it creates no estate and is not transferable. The distinction matters acutely when a grantor attempts to revoke what a grantee claims is a lease; courts look to whether exclusive possession was intended and granted. LEASE vs. EASEMENT: An easement grants a non-possessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose. A lease grants possession. A party who holds only an access or use right without exclusivity likely holds an easement or license, not a lease. LEASE vs. INSTALLMENT SALE (CONTRACT FOR DEED): Instruments styled as "lease-purchase" agreements or "rent-to-own" arrangements may be recharacterized by courts as installment sales, triggering different legal regimes, particularly in consumer protection and bankruptcy contexts. ---
Core Elements
Because a lease straddles contract and property law, courts and treatises have identified the following elements as essential to a valid lease: 1. Identified parties: A lessor with authority to convey and a lessee capable of holding the interest. 2. Described premises: Sufficiently certain description of the property being leased. 3. Definite or ascertainable term: The duration must be fixed, determinable, or terminable by notice. A lease for an indefinite period with no termination mechanism may be construed as a tenancy at will. 4. Consideration: Typically rent, though courts have sustained leases supported by other forms of consideration. 5. Delivery and acceptance: The lessee must accept the possessory interest. 6. Lessor's reversionary interest: The lessor must retain an interest that reverts at the end of the term. A conveyance of the entire fee is a sale, not a lease. The Statute of Frauds, in most jurisdictions, requires leases exceeding one year to be in writing. ---
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES Lease for years: Fixed-term lease with a definite start and end date. Does not terminate on the death of either party. Lease for life (lease pur autre vie): Duration measured by a life — either the lessee's or a third party's. Comparatively rare in modern practice; historically significant in common law tenures. Tenancy at will: No fixed term; either party may terminate at any time, subject to statutory notice requirements in most jurisdictions. Periodic tenancy: Automatically renews for successive periods (week-to-week, month-to-month, year-to-year) until proper notice is given. Concurrent lease: A lease of premises already under lease to another; takes effect as a lease in reversion, not in possession, until the prior lease ends. Reversionary lease: A lease granted now but not commencing until a future date, typically upon expiration of an existing lease. Gross lease: Tenant pays a fixed rent; landlord bears operating expenses. Net lease / Triple net lease: Tenant pays rent plus some or all of operating expenses, taxes, and insurance. Dominant form in commercial transactions. Percentage lease: Rent tied in whole or part to the tenant's gross revenue; common in retail settings. Ground lease: Long-term lease of land only; tenant constructs improvements. The reversion in improvements typically passes to the landowner at term's end. Oil and gas lease: Conveys the right to explore and extract minerals; governed by a specialized body of law distinct from ordinary landlord-tenant doctrine. ---
Why It Matters in Research
The dual contract-property character of leases means that the body of law governing any given dispute may differ depending on how the court frames the issue. Pre-twentieth-century sources treat the lease predominantly as a conveyance, with contractual remedies secondary or unavailable. Modern sources, particularly after the tenant-rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s and the adoption of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) in many states, apply robust contract and consumer protection principles. Researchers must pay attention to which regime controls in the jurisdiction and period at issue. Terminology shifts across time. Historical sources use "demise" and "letting" interchangeably with "lease." Instruments styled as "demises" in early records are leases; failure to recognize this synonym will produce gaps in research. Similarly, "tenement" in historical lease definitions refers to any property held by tenure, not only residential housing — a meaning that diverges sharply from modern colloquial use. Oil and gas leases occupy a distinct doctrinal pocket. Despite the shared name, the legal rules governing a mineral lease — including the implied covenant to develop, the concept of the habendum clause, and the rule of capture — differ substantially from real property landlord-tenant law. Researchers moving between these fields should not assume that general lease doctrine controls. Commercial lease disputes are heavily fact-specific and contract-driven. Triple net, percentage, and ground lease structures each carry standard drafting conventions that have evolved considerably since the mid-twentieth century. Older form books may not reflect current practice, and historical sources are of limited use for interpreting modern commercial lease provisions. For federal public lands, the Mineral Leasing Act creates a statutory leasing regime entirely separate from both common law lease doctrine and state landlord-tenant law. ---
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries converge on the core definition: a lease is a conveyance of possession of land or tenements for life, for years, or at will, in consideration of rent or recompense. Black's (both editions) and Rapalje & Lawrence track closely, all drawing on Cruise's Digest for the foundational formulation. Bouvier adds conceptual nuance absent from Black's: the lease is "a species of contract for the possession and profits of lands," framing it explicitly in contractual terms even in an era when property analysis dominated. Bouvier also specifies the essential property that the lease duration must be shorter than the grantor's interest — a point that distinguishes a lease from a fee simple transfer but that Black's leaves implicit. Rapalje & Lawrence provides the most granular treatment of subtypes, distinguishing the concurrent lease (which operates as a lease in possession once the prior term expires) from the reversionary lease. These distinctions remain live in title examination but are underexplored in the other shelf sources. None of the historical sources adequately address the lease-as-contract developments that reshaped tenant rights in the twentieth century, the emergence of commercial lease subtypes (triple net, percentage, ground lease), or the specialized mineral leasing regime. Researchers relying solely on these sources for modern lease questions will find the doctrine materially incomplete. ---
Jurisdictional Note
Residential lease law varies significantly by state. Roughly half the states have adopted versions of URLTA or similar tenant-protection statutes, imposing implied warranties of habitability and limiting landlord self-help remedies. Commercial lease law is far less regulated and remains predominantly governed by the parties' agreement and general common law principles. Oil and gas leasing on federal lands follows federal statutory and regulatory law regardless of state doctrine. ---
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Law Mind Property Law Encyclopedia: Landlord-Tenant — Commercial Leases (Triple Net, Percentage, Ground Lease) The Law Mind Real Estate Transactions & Construction Encyclopedia: Commercial Leases — Gross, Net, Triple Net, Percentage, and Ground Leases The Law Mind Environmental & Energy Law Encyclopedia: Oil and Gas Leasing on Federal Lands — Mineral Leasing Act and OCS ---
Related Terms
Lessor Lessee Demise (synonym; historical) Tenancy Landlord Tenant Rent Reversion Term of years Tenancy at will Periodic tenancy License (contrast) Easement (contrast) Ground lease Triple net lease Percentage lease Mineral lease Habendum clause Statute of Frauds Covenant of quiet enjoyment Warranty of habitability Sublease Assignment of lease
LEASEmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
A conveyance of lands or tene- ments to a person for life, for a term of years, or at will, in consideration of a return of rent or some other recompense. The person who so conveys such lands or tenements is termed the “lessor," and the person to whom they are conveyed, the "lessee;" and when the lessor so conveys lands or tenements to a lessee, he is said to lease, demise, or let them. 4 Cruise, Dig. 58. A conveyance of any lands or tenements, (usually in consideration of rent or other an- nual recompense,) made for life, for years, or at will, but always for a less time than the lessor has in the premises; for, if it be for the whole interest, it is more properly an as- signment than a lease. 2 Bl. Comm. 317; Shep. Touch. 266; Watk. Conv. 220. thus in possession, he is capable of receiving a release of the freehold and reversion, which must be made to the tenant in possession, and accordingly the next day a release is granted to him. The lease and release, when used as a conveyance of the fee, have the joint operation of a single conveyance. 2 Bl. Comm. 339; 4 Kent, Comm. 482; Co. Litt. 207; Cruise, Dig. tit. 32, c. 11.
LEASEmain
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910
<A conveyance of lands or fenements to a person for life, for a term of years, or at will, in consideration of a return of rent or some other recompense. The person who so conveys such lands or tenements is terined the “lessor,” and the person to whom they are conveyed, the “lessee;” and when the lessor so conveys lands or tenements to a lessee, he is said to lease, demise, or let them. 4 Cruise, Dig. 58. A conveyance of any lands or tenements, (usually in consideration of rent or other annual recompense,) made for life, for years, or at will, but always for a less time than the lessor has in the premises; for, if it be for the whole interest, it is more properly an assignment than a lease. 2 Bl. Comm. 317; Shep. Touch. 266; Watk. Conv. 220. And see Sawyer v. Hansen, 24 Me. 545; Thomus v. West Jersey R. C., 101 U. S. 78, 25 L. Ed. 950; Jackson v. Harsen, 7 Cow. (N. Y.) 826, 17 Am. Dec. 517; Lacey v. Newcomb, 95 Iowa, 287, 68 N. W. 704; Mayberry v. John- . son, 15 N. J. Law, 121; Milliken v. Faulk, 111 Ala. 658, 20 South. 594; Craig v. Summers, 47 Minn. 189, 49 N. W. 742, 15 L. R.A. 236; Harley v. O’Donnell, 9 Pa. Co. Ct. R. 56. A contract in writing, under seal, whereby a . person having a legal estate in hereditaments, ‘ corporeal or incorporeal, conveys a portion of his interest to another, in consideration of a certain annual rent or render, or other recompense. Archb. Landl. & Ten. 2. “Lease” or “hire” is a synallagmatic contract, to which consent alone is sufficient, and by which one party gives to the other the enjoyment of a thing, or his labor, at a fixed price. Civil Code La. art. 2669. When the contract is bipartite, the one part is called the ‘Jease,” the other the “counterpart.” In the United States, it is usual that both papers should be executed by both parties; but in England the lease Is executed by the lessor alone, and given to the lessee, while the counterpart is executed by the lessee alone, and given to the lessor. —Concurrent lease. One granted for a term which is to commence before the expiration or other determination of a previous lease of the same premises made to another person; or, in other words, an assignment of a rt of the reversion, entitling the lessee to all the rents accruing on the previous lease after the date of his lease and to appropriate remedies against the holding tenant. Cargill v. Thompson, 57 Minn. 534, 50 N. W. 638.—Lease and release. A snecies of convevance much used in England, said to have been invented by Serjeant Moore, soon after the enactment of the statute of uses. It is thus contrived: A ‘lease, or rather bargain and sale upon some pecuniary consideration for one year, is made by the tenant of the freehold to the lessee or bargainee. This, without any enrolment, makes the bargainor stand seised to the use of the bargainee, and vests in the bargainee the use of the term for one year, and then the statute immediately annexes the possession. Being thus in possession, he is capable of receiving a release of the freehold and reversion, which must be made to the tenant in possession, and raga teaia se a next day a release is granted to him. e lease and release, when used as
LEASEmain
Rapalje & Lawrence • 1888
5. Every joint tenancy is created by one and the same title (i. e. the same devise or the same conveyance), and at one and the same time; hence, if land is limited to A. for life, and after his death to the heirs of B. and C., and B. dies in A.'s life-time, and afterwards C. dies also in JOINT STOCK COMPANY, (in a statute). 121 A.'s life-time, here B. and C.'s heirs are not Mass. 524.
LEASEv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To gather what harvesters have left behind; to glean. [Obs.] Dryden.
LEASEv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise; as, a landowner leases a farm to a tenant; -- sometimes with out. There were some [houses] that were leased out for three lives. Addison. To hold under a lease; to take lease of; as, a tenant leases his land from the owner.
LEASEn.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
A demise or letting of lands, tenements, or hereditaments to another for life, for a term of years, or at will, or for any less interest than that which the lessor has in the property, usually for a specified rent or compensation. The contract for such letting. Any tenure by grant or permission; the time for which such a tenure holds good; allotted time. Our high-placed Macbeth Shall live the lease of nature. Shak. Lease and release a mode of conveyance of freehold estates, formerly common in England and in New York. its place is now supplied by a simple deed of grant. Burrill. Warren's Blackstone.
leaseverb
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
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To gather. | To pick, select, pick out; to pick up. | To glean. | To glean, gather up leavings.
leaseverb
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
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To tell lies; tell lies about; slander; calumniate.
leaseverb
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.
To release; let go; unloose.

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