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Outdoor Update: To Some Hunters, The Word Lease Is Scary
By Gary Howey
Hartington, Neb.
To some hunters, the word Lease is a dirty word!
If you want to make outdoorsmen and women feel truly uncomfortable, causing shivers to run up and down their spines all you need to do is to bring the word lease up.
It’s pretty easy to figure out why mentioning the word lease causes such problems, it’s because the word means that another piece of land is locked up and no longer available for the average person to hunt on. With less land being available there will be more demand on the remaining land that’s out there. Because of this, there will be more hunters vying for the fewer and fewer acres that remain.
If you’re a family man with kids, it means it will be harder for you to find a place to introduce your children to the sport or to take them hunting.
Even if you’ve leased some land or have a place to hunt, you can bet that when the landowner is approached by someone with a few bucks, he’ll lease it out or sell it out from under you in a heartbeat.
Leasing land without some sort of written agreement can be an iffy proposition as the days when a hand shake were as good as gold are long gone. Unless you have a legal document drawn up by a legal adviser with everything and I mean everything listed in black and white, you may just end up on the outside looking in when someone with some cash comes in and leases the land out from under you.
I’m not saying that land shouldn’t be leased; I’m simply saying that because a lot of land is being leased up, in a few years; there may be little if any land to hunt on and leasing may be the only way anyone will have a place to hunt.
What I’m saying, if you do plan on leasing some ground, especially for a long period of time, you best make sure you have everything covered and everything included in a written lease before taking possession or doing anything on that property.
Since I’m no legal expert, I contacted my good friend and county attorney George Hirschbach to make sure that before entering into a lease that you have everything covered and have it down in writing.
According to George, these things listed below should all be included in a lease contract?
1. Address and names of both parties involved in the lease.
2. How both parties are involved?
3. Complete legal description of the property.
4. The amount of rent and when the rent is to be paid.
5. The date the contract is in effect beginning date, length of contract and termination date.
6. The tenants intended us of the premises. (Exclusive hunting rights etc.)
7. Are any other rights or land uses allowed under the contract such as the rights to cut timber, water rights or are there no other rights deferred etc.
8. Whose responsibility is it for security on the land?
9. Provisions for the landlord to have a list those hunting on the land in case of trespassing.
10. If any repairs or changes to the premises need to be made before the tenant takes possession. (Fencing or other repairs)
11. If repairs or changes are needed, who’s to be responsible for the cost of these repairs?
12. A list of these repairs and changes that need to be made prior to the tenant taking over.
13. If tenant has the right upon termination of the contract to remove those things that he’s made improvements to. (Temporary buildings etc that he’s added to the premises)
14. What part of the premises each is expected to maintain. (The control of noxious weeds, unwanted vegetation, other invasive species and fences)
15. The tenant’s option to renew the lease or purchase the property.
16. The tenant’s option to sublet or assign a lease. (Allowing others to sign a lease with the tenant and not the landowner)
17. Who’s responsible for the liability insurance and if the landlord should be listed as an additional insured on the policy.
18. Clause that excludes the landowner from liability and property damage by the tenant.
19. Terms for cancellation of the lease.
20. Who’s responsible for any utility charges.
21. Items that the landlord will take care of.
22. Items the tenant is expected to take care of.
23. What happens in case of destruction on the property by fire or other hazard?
24. What would cause this lease to be terminated?
25. Under what conditions the landlord has the right to enter the leased property.
26. Effects in the case of eminent domain proceedings. (If the land is condemned for a public project is the tenant to be reimbursed for any land lost because of this)
27. What needs to be done in case of non payment etc?
28. If contract becomes void for any reason when, how and in what condition will the property be turned back over to the landowner.
29. Once the contract terminates what if anything needs to be done so the land is in the same or better condition at the time the tenant took over.
These are some of the major items that should be included in a lease agreement; if you have other concerns mention them to the person putting the lease agreement together for you just in case they need to be included.
Right now, the above items may look like things you don’t or won’t need to worry about, but if you’re looking into or going to lease some land, it’s best to have everything in writing.
Since times have changed with our taxes on land getting higher and the all mighty dollar being pretty important to some people there are things that can and probably will happen that will change the relationship between the tenant and the landowner.
Lease agreements are a way to make sure that everything is covered allowing both parties to know what’s expected of them and an excellent way to assure that there are no misunderstandings.
Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., is a former tournament angler, hunting and fishing guide. He’s the President of Outdoorsmen Productions LLC and the producer/Host of the Outdoorsmen Adventures television series.
If you want to make outdoorsmen and women feel truly uncomfortable, causing shivers to run up and down their spines all you need to do is to bring the word lease up.
It’s pretty easy to figure out why mentioning the word lease causes such problems, it’s because the word means that another piece of land is locked up and no longer available for the average person to hunt on. With less land being available there will be more demand on the remaining land that’s out there. Because of this, there will be more hunters vying for the fewer and fewer acres that remain.
If you’re a family man with kids, it means it will be harder for you to find a place to introduce your children to the sport or to take them hunting.
Even if you’ve leased some land or have a place to hunt, you can bet that when the landowner is approached by someone with a few bucks, he’ll lease it out or sell it out from under you in a heartbeat.
Leasing land without some sort of written agreement can be an iffy proposition as the days when a hand shake were as good as gold are long gone. Unless you have a legal document drawn up by a legal adviser with everything and I mean everything listed in black and white, you may just end up on the outside looking in when someone with some cash comes in and leases the land out from under you.
I’m not saying that land shouldn’t be leased; I’m simply saying that because a lot of land is being leased up, in a few years; there may be little if any land to hunt on and leasing may be the only way anyone will have a place to hunt.
What I’m saying, if you do plan on leasing some ground, especially for a long period of time, you best make sure you have everything covered and everything included in a written lease before taking possession or doing anything on that property.
Since I’m no legal expert, I contacted my good friend and county attorney George Hirschbach to make sure that before entering into a lease that you have everything covered and have it down in writing.
According to George, these things listed below should all be included in a lease contract?
1. Address and names of both parties involved in the lease.
2. How both parties are involved?
3. Complete legal description of the property.
4. The amount of rent and when the rent is to be paid.
5. The date the contract is in effect beginning date, length of contract and termination date.
6. The tenants intended us of the premises. (Exclusive hunting rights etc.)
7. Are any other rights or land uses allowed under the contract such as the rights to cut timber, water rights or are there no other rights deferred etc.
8. Whose responsibility is it for security on the land?
9. Provisions for the landlord to have a list those hunting on the land in case of trespassing.
10. If any repairs or changes to the premises need to be made before the tenant takes possession. (Fencing or other repairs)
11. If repairs or changes are needed, who’s to be responsible for the cost of these repairs?
12. A list of these repairs and changes that need to be made prior to the tenant taking over.
13. If tenant has the right upon termination of the contract to remove those things that he’s made improvements to. (Temporary buildings etc that he’s added to the premises)
14. What part of the premises each is expected to maintain. (The control of noxious weeds, unwanted vegetation, other invasive species and fences)
15. The tenant’s option to renew the lease or purchase the property.
16. The tenant’s option to sublet or assign a lease. (Allowing others to sign a lease with the tenant and not the landowner)
17. Who’s responsible for the liability insurance and if the landlord should be listed as an additional insured on the policy.
18. Clause that excludes the landowner from liability and property damage by the tenant.
19. Terms for cancellation of the lease.
20. Who’s responsible for any utility charges.
21. Items that the landlord will take care of.
22. Items the tenant is expected to take care of.
23. What happens in case of destruction on the property by fire or other hazard?
24. What would cause this lease to be terminated?
25. Under what conditions the landlord has the right to enter the leased property.
26. Effects in the case of eminent domain proceedings. (If the land is condemned for a public project is the tenant to be reimbursed for any land lost because of this)
27. What needs to be done in case of non payment etc?
28. If contract becomes void for any reason when, how and in what condition will the property be turned back over to the landowner.
29. Once the contract terminates what if anything needs to be done so the land is in the same or better condition at the time the tenant took over.
These are some of the major items that should be included in a lease agreement; if you have other concerns mention them to the person putting the lease agreement together for you just in case they need to be included.
Right now, the above items may look like things you don’t or won’t need to worry about, but if you’re looking into or going to lease some land, it’s best to have everything in writing.
Since times have changed with our taxes on land getting higher and the all mighty dollar being pretty important to some people there are things that can and probably will happen that will change the relationship between the tenant and the landowner.
Lease agreements are a way to make sure that everything is covered allowing both parties to know what’s expected of them and an excellent way to assure that there are no misunderstandings.
Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., is a former tournament angler, hunting and fishing guide. He’s the President of Outdoorsmen Productions LLC and the producer/Host of the Outdoorsmen Adventures television series.
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| Meeting Minutes: Yankton Area Writers’ Club | Outdoor Update: S.D. Pheasantennial: All For The Love Of Ringneck Pheasants |
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