The legal characteristics of the contract of hire (lease)

The relevance of legal research in the field of legal regulation of hire (lease) relations is due to a number of factors, including changes in legislation and law enforcement practice, economic factors and the growing popularity of this contractual institution. Scientific developments in this area may relate to various aspects and have been also driven by the novelisation of Ukrainian civil legislation. The expediency of a comprehensive study of this issue is also confirmed by the fact that the Economic Code of Ukraine, which largely has regulated lease relations in the business sector, will cease to be effective as of 28.08.2025. Under a hire (lease) contract, the lessor transfers or undertakes to transfer property to the lessee for possession and use for a fee for a certain period of time. In the civil law doctrine, obligations under lease contracts are classified by their legal nature as bilateral, consensual, fixed-term and paid. This approach has been also supported by the practice of the Supreme Court. An essential condition of hire (lease) contract is the condition on the subject matter. Despite the fact that this transaction is characterised as a paid and fixed-term one, the terms on its price and term are not considered to be material. The form of this contract may be determined by the type of object to be leased, the term, the identity of the parties, the form of ownership of the property, etc. The Civil Code of Ukraine clearly has provided for the grounds for termination of a lease contract. In the article it has been concluded that a notice of objection to the automatic prolongation of a lease contract pursuant to the Article 764 of the Civil Code of Ukraine or a provision of a specific agreement is a transaction by its legal nature. Despite the generally detailed regulation of hire (lease) relations in the civil legislation of Ukraine, law enforcement practice confirms the expediency of further research into the problems of their legal regulation. When entering into hire (lease) contracts, it is necessary to strictly comply with the principle of private law ‘nemo plus iuris ad alium transferre potest, quam ipse haberet’, the rules for determining their subject matter and the other conditions which, once included in the text of the transaction, will acquire the nature of essential conditions, ensuring compliance with their form, etc.