A landlord and tenant relationship arises when one person agrees to rent land or tenement to another. The agreement is referred to as a lease or a rental agreement. Rent may be for money, or in the case of agricultural leases, for money or a percentage of the crops or their proceeds.

Any agreement which creates a relationship of landlord and tenant is known as a lease or rental agreement. The landlord leases or rents to the tenant exclusive possession of land or tenement for a period of time. The length of the lease may be for a determinate period of time or at will. The relationship between the parties created by a lease or rental agreement implies that possession of the premises will revert back to the landlord at some time in the future. The landlord is the owner of the land or tenement who leases it to another person. The tenant is the person who rents or leases the land or tenement.