What is a 1-year lease on a house?

Answer
A lease is a rental contract that gives you specific rights during the period of the lease, rather than the default "month-to-month" rental, which could even be oral.

The lease for a specific period is essentially an agreement to pay the rent for that entire period, often in monthly installments, and may state valid reasons (if any) for "breaking the lease" with proper advance notice, and other requirements, to avoid penalties.

There are several advantages of a lease. The rent won't go up, there is a document that can be used for stating the responsibilities of everyone involved, the landlord doesn't have to worry about showing or renting the space for a longer period, and so on. You can agree about almost anything in a lease: who does the different types of maintenance, who pays for improvements or damages, how the house can be used and how it should not be used (e.g., for sublet, frat house, meth lab, etc).

One of the most important things in a lease these days is that the tenant (lessor) has rights to possession (occupancy) of the property regardless of who happens to own the property. So, if the bank forecloses the property, the lease remains in effect and the tenants are given instructions to pay the rental fee to a different owner.

First answer by Wutzyerproblem. Last edit by Wutzyerproblem. Contributor trust: 536 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 7 [recommend question]