South African law of lease

The South African law of lease is an area of the legal system in South Africa which describes the rules applicable to a contract of lease (or letting and hiring, Lat locatio conductio, Afrik huur en verhuring).^[1]: 906 This is broadly defined as a synallagmatic contract between two parties, the lessor and the lessee, in terms of which one, the lessor, binds himself to give the other, the lessee, the temporary use and enjoyment of a thing, in whole or in part, or of his services or those of another person; the lessee, meanwhile, binds himself to pay a sum of money as compensation, or rent, for that use and enjoyment. The law of lease is often discussed as a counterpart to the law of sale.

South African law, like its Roman counterpart, recognises three forms of the contract of lease:

1. locatio conductio rei, or renting or hire of a thing, movable or immovable;
2. locatio conductio operarum, or employment contract or hire of labour between an employer and an employee; and
3. locatio conductio operis, or contract for the supply of services, like the construction of a building, between an employer and independent contractor.

So much in their incidents do these differ, however, that they are best regarded as three different types of contract. This entry is concerned with the first of the three, or what is known in English law as, and commonly called in South Africa, the contract of landlord and tenant.^[2]