LEASE LENGTH AND THE CARE OF PROPERTIES (amended following referee's comments)

This paper explores how lease length influences the allocation of responsibilities for leased premises. The reasons why longer leases usually give tenants more control over their premises than short leases are explained. Both international comparisons and variations within markets confirm this tendency. However, it is impractical to use available leasing data to measure a mathematical relationship between lease length and the allocation of responsibilities. Instead, this paper describes an algebraic model of the (agency) costs of leasing on different bases and how these costs vary with the length of the lease. Simulations using the algebraic model estimate the lease length at which landlords and tenants may benefit from switching responsibilities for the property under several scenarios. Typical lease lengths for non-residential properties are changing in some countries, either as a result of legislation or market forces. Therefore, it is timely to consider whether the property responsibilities will or should be allocated differently in future. The observed variations in the bases of leasing and these simulations suggest that there are approximate lease lengths, above which responsibilities for the property should be changed.