The contract for lease of goods is well known in practical life. Short-time leases of cars, to both businesses and consumers, are perhaps the most striking example, but contracts for temporary use of another person’s goods in exchange for rent are common for a wide range of products, like industrial equipment, office machines, leisure boats, sports gear, etc. Long-term leases are often chosen as an alternative to other forms of acquisition of goods ("financial leases"). This book presents a set of Principles of European law on lease contracts within the framework of the Study Group on a European Civil Code. The Principles are closely co-ordinated with other parts of what will become the Draft Common Frame of Reference for European contract law, prepared for the European Commission by several pan-European research teams co-operating in a network of excellence under the sixth Research Framework Programme. The Principles are accompanied by explanatory comments and comparative notes containing information on lease law for 27 European countries as well as on relevant international instruments. Thus, the book is a source to knowledge on existing law, in addition to being a contribution to the analysis of the interplay between general contract law and the law of specific contracts as well as to the discussion of future European private law.