9-214.Lease defined.

Section 9-214 is a definitional section. It states that the term 'lease,' as used in Part 2 of Article IX, includes every letting, whether by verbal or written agreement.

That definition matters because it makes the notice periods, rent-recovery rights, and holdover penalties throughout this Part apply equally to oral and written arrangements, unless a specific section says otherwise. Section 9-206 is one such exception, since its four-month farmland notice period cannot be waived in a verbal lease even though verbal leases otherwise count under this definition.

By defining 'lease' this broadly, the section prevents either a landlord or a tenant from arguing that Part 2's protections and obligations do not apply because the rental arrangement was never put in writing.