Article 691

What it means when you sign

This article says when the lease term begins. The term starts from the date agreed in the contract. If the parties have not specified a date, it starts from the date of the contract.

For a contract about to be signed, this article is relevant to the clause that states when the lease begins and ends. It means the start date written in the lease controls, and that a lease with no start date is counted from the day the contract is made, which may differ from the day the tenant actually receives the property or moves in. The start date matters because the length of the term, the rent periods and the renewal or expiry dates all depend on it. When reading a lease, it is worth checking that a start date is stated, that it matches the date the property is actually handed over, and that any dates elsewhere in the lease, such as the rent schedule or the end of the term, are consistent with it.