Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership. An example of renting is equipment rental. Renting can be an example of the

sharing economy In capitalism, the sharing economy is a socio-economic system built around the sharing of resources. It often involves a way of purchasing goods and services that differs from the traditional business model of companies hiring employees to produce ...

History

Various types of rent are referenced in Roman law: rent (''canon'') under the long leasehold tenure of Emphyteusis; rent (''reditus'') of a farm; ground-rent (''solarium''); rent of state lands (''vectigal''); and the annual rent (''prensio'') payable for the ''jus superficiarum'' or right to the perpetual enjoyment of anything built on the surface of land.

Reasons for renting

There are many possible reasons for renting instead of buying, for example: *In many jurisdictions (including

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, Australia,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

) rent paid in a

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...

or business is tax-deductible, whereas rent on a dwelling is not tax-deductible in most jurisdictions. *Financial inadequacy, such as renting a house when one is unable to purchase, i.e "renting by necessity". *Reducing financial risk due to depreciation and transaction costs, especially for real estate which might be needed only for a short amount of time. *When something is needed only temporarily, as in the case of a special

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

, a

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

or a skip. *When something is needed that may or may not be already owned but is not in proximity for use, such as renting an automobile or bicycle when away on a trip. *Needing a cheaper alternative to buying, such as renting a movie: a person is unwilling to pay the full price for a movie, so they rent it for a lesser price but give up the chance to view it again later. *The tenant may want to leave the burden of upkeep of the property (mowing the lawn, shovelling snow, etc.) to the owner or his agents. *There is no need to worry about lifespan and maintenance. *Renting keeps off-balance-sheet the debt that would burden the balance sheet of a company in case the property would have been bought. *Renting is good for the environment if products are used more efficiently by maximizing utility rather than being disposed of, overproduced and underutilized. *Risks aside, renting has the potential to generate a regular stream of revenue for the owner. The more the churn (the number of times the item is rented out) the higher the income. Eventually, the rental income crosses the product procurement value and every churn post that becomes a profit for the owner *Renting often also becomes an alternate revenue pool for idle inventory vs. overly depending on a stagnant / slowing retailing business environment

Growth of rental industry

Short-term rental of all sorts of products (excluding real estate and holiday apartments) already represents an estimated €108 billion ($160 billion) annual market in Europe and is expected to grow further as the internet makes it easier to find specific items available for rent.Schenker, Jennifer
"Tough Times? Rent, Don't Buy, with Erento"
'' BusinessWeek'', 2008-08-22. Retrieved on 2009-10-01. According to a poll by YouGov, 76% of people looking to rent would go to the internet first to find what they need; rising to 88% for those aged 25–34. It has been widely reported that the financial crisis of 2007–2010 may have contributed to the rapid growth of online rental marketplaces, such as erento, as consumers are more likely to consider renting instead of buying in times of financial hardship. Environmental concerns, fast depreciation of goods, and a more transient workforce also mean that consumers are increasingly searching for rentals online. A 2010 US survey found 27% of renters plan to never buy a home.''Boston Metro'', 19 August 2010, p 6. Citing survey by Trulia.com.

Rental investment

Net income received, or losses suffered, by an investor from renting of properties is subject to idiosyncratic risk due to the numerous things that can happen to real property and variable behavior of tenants.

Rental agreements

There is typically an implied, explicit, or written rental agreement or

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

involved to specify the terms of the rental, which are regulated and managed under

contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

. Examples include letting out real estate (real property) for the purpose of housing tenure (where the tenant rents a residence to live in), parking space for a vehicle(s), storage space, whole or portions of properties for business, agricultural, institutional, or government use, or other reasons. When renting real estate, the person(s) or party who lives in or occupies the real estate is often called a tenant, paying rent to the owner of the property, often called a landlord (or landlady). The real estate rented may be all or part of almost any real estate, such as an apartment, house,

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

, business office(s) or suite, land, farm, or merely an inside or outside space to park a vehicle, or store things all under Real estate law. The tenancy agreement for real estate is often called a lease, and usually involves specific property rights in real property, as opposed to

chattel Chattel may refer to: * Chattel, an alternative name for tangible personal property * A chattel house, a type of West Indian dwelling * A chattel mortgage, a security interest over tangible personal property * Chattel slavery, the most extreme form ...

s. In India, the rental income on property is taxed under the head "income from house property". A deduction of 30% is allowed from total rent which is charged to tax. The ''time use of a chattel'' or other so called "personal property" is covered under general

, but the term ''lease'' also nowadays extends to long term ''rental contracts'' of more expensive non-Real properties such as automobiles, boats, planes, office equipment and so forth. The distinction in that case is long term versus short term rentals. Some non-real properties commonly available for rent or lease are: * motion pictures on VHS or DVD, of audio CDs, of

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer progra ...

s on CD-ROM. * transport equipment, such as an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

or a bicycle. *ships and boats, in which case rental is known as chartering, and the rent is known as ''hire'' or ''freight'' (depending on the type of charter) *aircraft, in which case rental is known as chartering, or leasing if the rental is longer term *specialized

s, such as a

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, Log bucking, bucki ...

, laptop, IT equipment or something more substantial, such as a forklift. *large equipment such as cranes, oil rigs and submarines. *a deckchair or

beach chair Beach chair means "chair on the beach" and can refer to: * Deckchair, a portable folding chair used at deck or on the beach. * Strandkorb, a special hooded windbreak seating furniture used at vacation and seaside resort A seaside resort is a resor ...

and umbrella. * furniture *designer handbags, jewelry,"If you want it, rent it ... from a 'must have' handbag to an Aston Martin"
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'', 2009-01-04. Retrieved on 2009-09-09. sunglasses and watches. *Home appliances such as wa