Land lease agreement template
A land lease rents out ground, not a building: a hayfield to a neighbor, pasture to a cattle operator, a gravel lot for equipment, or a pad for a manufactured home. What matters is different from a house lease. You need the boundaries, the one use allowed, who owns the fence the tenant builds, and what the land has to look like when they leave. This template covers all of that for a lease of a few years or less.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Tenant
- Landowner
Land Lease Agreement
This Land Lease Agreement (the "Lease") is made on Lease date between Landowner name (the "Landowner") and Tenant name or business (the "Tenant").
1. The land
The Landowner leases to the Tenant about Acres acres of land at Land location or parcel number, described more fully as Land description or boundaries (the "Land"), together with access over Access route. A map or survey may be attached and forms part of this Lease. The Landowner keeps all rights not given to the Tenant here, including mineral, oil, gas and water rights, and timber unless stated otherwise.
2. Permitted use
The Tenant may use the Land only for Permitted use, for example crops, grazing, equipment storage or a manufactured home, and for nothing else without the Landowner's written consent. The Tenant will follow every law, permit and zoning rule that applies to that use, and won't allow any nuisance on the Land.
3. Term
The Lease starts on Start date and ends on End date. The Tenant may renew it for Renewal option by giving written notice at least Days of notice to renew days before it ends, on the same terms except for rent, which the parties will agree in writing.
4. Rent
The Tenant will pay rent of Rent amount per Rent period (for example month, year, or acre per year), due on Rent due dates, by Payment method. Rent more than Days late before late fee days late carries a late fee of Late fee. A security deposit of Security deposit is due at signing and will be returned, less amounts owed, within 30 days after the Tenant leaves and restores the Land.
5. Taxes, utilities and costs
The Landowner pays the real estate taxes on the Land. The Tenant pays any tax on its own improvements, equipment, crops or animals, all utilities it uses, and the cost of any permits for its use. Costs for fencing, wells, roads or drainage are shared as follows: Shared improvement costs.
6. Care of the Land
- The Tenant will use good practices to prevent erosion, overgrazing and weeds, and keep fences and gates it uses in repair and closed.
- No hazardous materials, fuel storage beyond what normal farm or equipment use needs, dumping or burning of trash, except as the law allows and the Landowner agrees.
- No cutting of trees, removing soil, sand or gravel, or changing drainage without the Landowner's written consent.
- Hunting, fishing and recreation rights: Hunting and recreation rights.
7. Improvements
The Tenant may build or place these improvements on the Land: Approved improvements. Any other building, structure or major improvement needs the Landowner's written approval. At the end of the Lease, the Tenant will Improvements at lease end, for example remove them and restore the Land, or leave them for the Landowner without payment.
8. Insurance and liability
The Tenant will carry liability insurance of at least Minimum liability coverage covering its use of the Land, naming the Landowner as an additional insured, and will give proof on request. The Tenant is responsible for its own property, crops and animals on the Land, and will indemnify the Landowner against claims arising from the Tenant's use, except claims caused by the Landowner's own negligence.
9. Landowner's access
The Landowner may enter the Land on reasonable notice to inspect it, and at any time in an emergency, without unreasonably interfering with the Tenant's use. The Landowner may sell the Land or grant easements, subject to this Lease.
10. Default and ending the Lease
If the Tenant doesn't pay rent within Days to cure late rent days after written notice, or doesn't fix another breach within Days to cure other breach days after written notice, the Landowner may end this Lease as the law allows. When the Lease ends, the Tenant will remove its property and leave the Land in the condition required by section 7, apart from normal use. If crops are planted before the Lease ends early through no fault of the Tenant, the Tenant may harvest them or be paid their fair value, as the parties agree or the law provides.
11. General
The Tenant may not assign this Lease or sublet the Land without the Landowner's written consent. This Lease binds the parties' heirs, successors and permitted assigns, is governed by the laws of the state of State, is the whole agreement about the Land, and can be changed only in writing signed by both parties. Electronic signatures count as original signatures. Either party may record a memorandum of this Lease, signed and acknowledged as local recording rules require.
Tenant contact details
Mailing address: Tenant mailing address Phone: Tenant phone Email: Tenant email
I have read this Lease, including the permitted use in section 2 and the care of the Land in section 6.
Tenant
Landowner
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
When a land lease fits
Use it whenever someone else will use your land for a set purpose and pay rent for it. It works for crop and pasture leases, equipment and RV storage, a contractor's yard, a hunting club's access, or a home site where the tenant brings their own manufactured home. Rent can be monthly, yearly or a set amount per acre.
It isn't built for a long ground lease where a tenant puts up a commercial building and pays rent for decades. Those need financing, recording and leasehold mortgage terms a lawyer should draft. For a store or office inside a building, use the commercial lease.
What the template covers
- The land: acres, location or parcel number, boundaries, an access route, and a map attached if you have one.
- Reserved rights: minerals, oil, gas, water and timber stay with the landowner unless you say otherwise.
- Permitted use: the one use allowed, plus compliance with zoning and permits.
- Term and renewal: start and end dates and an optional renewal with notice.
- Rent and deposit: the amount per month, year or acre, due dates, a late fee and a deposit.
- Taxes and costs: the landowner pays the land tax; the tenant pays for its own improvements, utilities and permits; shared costs for fences, wells and roads.
- Care of the land: erosion, overgrazing, weeds, gates, no dumping and no cutting timber or removing soil.
- Improvements: what the tenant may build and whether it's removed or left at the end.
- Insurance, access and default: liability coverage, the landowner's right to inspect, cure periods and the tenant's crops if the lease ends early.
Mistakes landowners make
- Describing the land as "the back forty". Use a parcel number, a map or a survey; boundaries are what land disputes are about.
- Saying nothing about improvements. The tenant's new fence, well or shed: does it stay or go, and who pays? Decide before it's built.
- Forgetting reserved rights. If an oil company or a timber buyer comes calling, you want the lease to say those rights are yours.
- Relying on a handshake for a multi-year lease. Most states require a lease longer than a year to be in writing to be enforceable.
- Missing farm notice deadlines. Some farm states set a date, often months before the next crop year, by which a year-to-year farm lease must be ended in writing.
Recording a long lease
For a long lease, some landowners and tenants record a short memorandum of lease with the county so future buyers know it exists. Recording offices usually want that memorandum notarized; SignMaster doesn't notarize, so sign the memorandum before a notary and keep the e-signed lease as the full agreement.
How to send it with SignMaster
- 1
Open the lease
Choose Use this template. The land lease opens in your SignMaster account with the tenant signing first and you, the landowner, second.
- 2
Describe the land and the deal
Fill in the gray blanks: acres, parcel, boundaries, access, use, dates, rent, costs, improvements, hunting rights and insurance. Upload your map or survey into the same envelope.
- 3
Send it to the tenant
Enter their name and email. They add their business name, mailing address and contact details, tick that they've read the use and care terms, and sign from any phone or computer.
- 4
Sign at the farm or from anywhere
If you're meeting at the property, the tenant can sign on your phone with Sign in person. Otherwise, automatic reminders follow up until it's done.
- 5
Keep it with your deed records
When you countersign, both of you get the signed PDF with its certificate of completion. File it with the parcel's other paperwork.
Leasing many parcels
Landowners and land managers with many parcels often renew pasture and cropland leases at the same time each year. Bulk send sends every tenant their own lease from one spreadsheet, with columns named after the gray blanks such as Land location or parcel number, Acres and Rent amount. Export the sheet from Excel as CSV UTF-8, and check the results file to see who has signed before the season starts.
Questions? Answers.
How is rent for farmland usually set?
Often as a fixed amount per acre per year, sometimes adjusted for crop prices or yields. The template takes a rent amount and a period, so you can write per acre per year, per year or per month.
Who pays property taxes on leased land?
In this template the landowner pays the land tax and the tenant pays tax on its own improvements, equipment, crops and animals. You can shift that by writing it into the shared costs blank.
Can a land lease be signed electronically?
Yes. A lease is a contract, and e-signatures are valid for it. Recording a memorandum of lease with the county is separate and usually needs a notarized signature. See can you e-sign a property deed.
Can I lease land for a manufactured home with this?
Yes, for a single home site. Some states have specific rules for manufactured home lot rentals, especially in parks with several homes, so check your state's law before you rely on it there.