A leasehold is an agreement whereby a landowner, usually referred to as the landlord or lessor, grants the right to use the property to another person or entity, known as the tenant or lessee. There are two basic types of leaseholds: nonresidential and residential. Nonresidential tenancies are governed by Part I and residential tenancies by Part II of Chapter 83, Florida Statutes.

The general principles of contract law apply to lease agreements. They can be written or oral, express or implied.  Hence, the first step in determining the parties' rights is to read the written documents to determine whether they constitute a written lease agreement and interpret what rights and obligations they confer. The major rights tenants acquire through a lease agreement are right to possession for a particular duration, right to have landlord be responsible for certain repairs and maintenance, right to compensation in case of a government taking and right to certain procedures in case landlord seeks eviction. The rights a landlord acquires is the right to rent payments for a specified period of time and for other specified reasons such as insurance, taxes, damages, etc.

Mr. Reder is experienced in consulting, drafting and litigating lease agreements.