5.1 Meaning and Nature of Lease Contract

A contract of lease is one by which the lessor grants the lessee the right to use and enjoyproperty (movable or immovable) for a certain term, in return for rent or otherconsideration. What passes is not ownership but a possessory interest for the term — the leasehold. In Nepal, the Muluki Civil Code 2074, Part 5, Chapter 12 (Contracts of Lease) governs the contract's face (chapter verified from the Code's official table of contents), while the landlord-and-tenant relationship's protective rules live in the Part 4, Chapter 9 (House Rent) discipline of the same Code — the Code's own division of the terrain.Lease's neighbours (the three contrasts): | Point | Lease | Licence | Mortgage | |---|---|---|---| | What passes | Exclusive possession for a term | A bare permission to use (no interest in land) | A security interest — possession stays with the mortgagor unless the form provides otherwise | | Consideration | Rent | Fee/charge | The secured debt | | Transfer of interest | Yes (a term's grant) | No | Yes — but defeasible on redemption (Property Law, Semester 3) |