The New York booklet defines a lease as a contract whereby, for a consideration usually called rent, a person entitled to possession of real property transfers that right to another for life, for a term of years, or at will. It is both a property term and a contract term.
A lease belongs to the law of real property, but it does not mean the same thing as a conveyance (deed). A deed transfers an estate or interest in property in one way; a lease transfers the right of possession for a period or arrangement described by the agreement. That is why the vocabulary matters.
Practical note: The word “lease” signals possession and rent. It does not automatically mean a sale, a mortgage, or a permanent transfer of title.
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