Renting & Leasing – What’s the difference?

There is a very common misconception that renting and leasing are one in the same. These terms are constantly used interchangeably while they shouldn’t be, because they’re not the same thing. Here’s the difference.

The major difference is just the type of agreement whether it is a Rental Agreement or Leasing Agreement.

Rental

When it comes to renting a home, the landlord provides an overall outline of how much rent is and around when it should be paid every month. There is also a rounded out idea if the utilities are included in the rent or not. However, these “ideas” of what the tenant will abide by could be up to change at any time by the Landlord.

Leasing

However when it comes to a leasing agreement, it is an actual contract. What this means is, the parameters specified within said leasing agreement are written in stone. Meaning, there is no “Hey, can I just pay you at the end of the month instead?” Leasing agreements cannot be tampered with by any means. When it comes to utilities the landlord needs to know if what he/she would like to have the tenant do, pay the companies himself/herself or include it in the rent. Leases also have the date the tenants need to move out by.

So it is always a good thing to know if you have agreed to a leasing agreement or a rental agreement in case your landlord does something he or she is not permitted to.