The Lease Model of Agricultural Land and Its General Framework
The most widespread form of transactions involving agricultural land is lease: the landowner hands the plot over to an entrepreneur for farming use and receives rent in return. Article 592 of the Civil Code defines the concept: under a lease of agricultural land, the plot is transferred for an agricultural purpose together with residential or farm buildings (an enterprise) intended for farm use, or without such a building. The general rules of lease apply to this lease, unless something else is established for agricultural land.
The general framework is Article 581 of the Code: the lessor transfers the property for temporary use and ensures the possibility of receiving fruits, if they are received as income as a result of the proper management of the farm; the lessee pays the agreed rent. The rent may be determined in money or in kind, and the parties may agree on other means of determining it as well. In agricultural practice, payment in kind — a share of the harvest — is a traditional form that the Code directly envisages.