Contract Law
Provisions of the Lease Contract
The article outlines the lease as a consensual, time‑limited contract granting the tenant use of a non‑consumable thing for a specified rent, and sets out its main features and elements (consent, subject, cause). It also describes the contract’s legal effects and the respective obligations of landlord and tenant, noting statutory limits on lease duration in recent Jordanian property law.
Updated: 2 October 2024
Prepared and reviewed by: Ashraf Al-Khawaja
Definition and Nature of the Lease
A lease is an obligation by which the landlord enables the tenant to enjoy a specified thing for a defined period in return for a stated rent. It is a time‑based, consensual contract binding on both parties and governed by general legal rules on valid consent and contractual capacity within statutory limits.
Essential Elements and the Subject‑matter (Thing, Term, Rent)
The lease’s traditional elements are consent, subject‑matter and cause; the subject encompasses the grant of use, a definite term and a rental quid pro quo. The leased thing must not be inherently consumable and perpetual leases are generally disallowed; recent property legislation may impose maximum terms (for example, a statutory ceiling of ninety‑nine years for real‑estate leases). If rent is not expressly fixed, law or custom supplies the comparable rate.
Landlord’s Obligations and Practical Limits
The landlord must deliver the leased thing fit for the agreed use, maintain it during the lease term, and guarantee the tenant’s peaceful and utile possession. The guarantee covers lawful interferences by third parties. Where the thing perishes or its utility is impaired, the tenant may seek repairs, rent reduction or contract termination as provided by the agreement and applicable general rules.
Tenant’s Obligations and Practical Effects
The tenant must pay the agreed rent—or a market rate if unspecified—and remains liable for rent for the contractual term so long as the thing was delivered and fit for use. The tenant must preserve the thing, use it for the agreed purpose, refrain from structural alterations that harm the landlord, and return the thing at lease end in the expected condition; custom may place return costs on the tenant. In disputes, the tenant bears the burden to prove that permitted modifications caused no damage.
Legal notice
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Sources and references
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