demising

Demising, in property law, refers to the granting of a lease of real property or a portion of it. The verb to demise means to transfer possession and use of land or buildings to another person for a specified term in exchange for rent. The noun demise can refer to the lease itself or to the estate conveyed by the lease, known as the demised premises.

The demised premises are the legal description of the space leased, which may be the whole property or a designated portion. The grant is typically set out in a demising clause within a lease or in a deed of conveyance; such a clause specifies the term of years, rent, renewal rights, and covenants governing the parties' use and responsibilities. Historically, a demise created a tenant's leasehold estate in land; in modern practice it remains a conventional term in lease drafting, even as the exact structure of leases varies by jurisdiction.

Distinctions: demise is the transaction and the property interest; lease is the contract; assignment and sublease are related concepts covering transfers of the leasehold or portions of it. The landlord's covenants (quiet enjoyment, repair, maintenance) and the tenant's covenants (payment of rent, use restrictions, upkeep) are typically set out in the lease, including remedies for breach. Demising terminology remains common in commercial leases and in real estate law, even as forms evolve toward more standardized drafting.