I. Things that you need to know before signing a Tenancy Agreement or a Lease
As an overview, a Tenancy Agreement is a binding legal document which has important implications on the committed rights and obligations on the part of both landlord and tenant. The terms of a Tenancy Agreement must be carefully considered before signing.
Contrary to the common belief of many lay parties, the potential consequences of breaching a Tenancy Agreement by a tenant may not be only limited to the ‘loss’ in the amount of the deposit paid to a landlord.
The same also applies to a landlord where he may become liable or responsible to third parties for any breaches committed by the tenant.
The contents of a Tenancy Agreement will normally include the period/length of the tenancy, rent, payment period, deposit, use (e.g. residence, office, or factory etc.), renewal terms, termination terms and other usual terms that will be described in the other parts of this topic.
Depending on the period of the tenancy and the capacities of the parties entering into the agreement (whether a party to an agreement is an individual or a limited company, etc.), different formalities for execution may be required.
While the terms "Tenancy Agreement" and "Lease" are often casually used as if they are synonyms in modern times and that both are generally binding, effective and enforceable in Court, there may still be some technical differences between them in their legal meaning.
a) Period/length of the tenancy
e) Interests affecting the tenancy
f) Tenancy without a written tenancy agreement
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