Tenancy Agreement (TA)



TA is defined as a contractual relationship between a landlord and a tenant, requiring the tenant to pay rental to the landlord for the use of the property. Tenancy is created for a term not exceeding three years.

A lease, on the other hand, is the letting of a property for a period exceeding three years. Under the National Land Code, a lease has to be registered with the Land Registry, which means that the lease will be endorsed on the title of the property giving notice to the world that the property is under a lease.

There are three elements in a tenancy setting, namely the landlord, the tenant and the property.

①A fixed term tenancy has a definite beginning date and ending date and may have an option to renew in the agreement.

②A periodic tenancy is a tenancy for some period of time as determined by the term of the payment of rent. Tenancy can be from year to year; month to month or week to week.

③Tenancy at will is a tenancy agreement where a tenant occupies a property with the consent of the owner but there is no written agreement between the parties that specifies a definite payment of rent or the tenure of the rental. It can be terminated by either the landlord or the tenant at any time by giving reasonable notice.

Once a landlord and tenant agree on a tenancy arrangement, they would usually execute a preliminary agreement called LO (Letter of Offer to Rent) specifying the terms and conditions as agreed to by both parties. The tenant would pay an earnest deposit (usually one month’s rental) upon signing the LO. Thereafter a Tenancy Agreement would be executed between the two parties. The Agreement should be duly stamped.

Stamping fee calculation : Rental − 200 × 12 ÷ 250 × 1 (and 2, 3) years

※above stamping fee + documentation fee is required when ask agent to do deal