# Rent vs Lease, what is the technical difference?



## dyker (Feb 27, 2008)

What is the technical difference in D* choosing the word "Lease" vs. "Rent". Anything? Would it be that I have a number of months commitment? I sign a "lease" to the apartment for a year, and pay the "rent" monthly? I don't own the apartment, I "Lease" it? Is Rent the technical term for the payment itself, while Lease is the paperwork you signed? But we don't say "I leased a car for my weekend vacation" we say "I rented a car..."

I'm just wondering if there is a technical difference is for the perspective of D* equipment. (also, don't stare at the word "Lease" too long or it will look misspelled... kind of freaky). (PS, I did search for titles with "Rent" in all forums and didn't see any posted)


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

no difference, both apply to the same thing


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## CrazyforYeshua (Feb 23, 2008)

I don't know, but you wouldn't "rent" a Cavalier from Chevy, you would "lease" it.
Same concept, money down, so much a month for a certain amount of time. Difference being, we never get the chance to pay money to own it outright like we would the Cav.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

The main difference is an accounting one for DirecTV - how they count their assets and depreciate their equipment.

You pay the same amount month to month either way (owned or leased). Otherwise, most of us believe that leasing is actually better than owning because you normally get less costly replacement of a defective unit. The only user advantage to owning would be the ability to sell the unit when you no longer have use for it (you must return leased equipment). If you keep the unit for any length of time, the resale value will be pretty low though.

The two year committment associated with leasing is to allow DirecTV to recover the cost difference between the cost to produce, and the cost the unit is offered to you. If you don't want the committment, you can buy from DirecTV, but at a substantially higher up-front price.

Carl


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I'd have to ask an attorney, but I believe "leasing" implies a minimum time commitment while "renting" does not.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

I think you’ve figured it out. The word “rent” refers to the actually payment itself whereas the word “lease” refers to the agreement/contract. Also, there are some connotations of these words that suggest “to rent” means for a short term whereas “to lease” means for a longer term. As you said, you “rent” a car for the weekend, but you “lease” a car for 36 months. 

In respect to D*, it all basically means that no matter how much you pay up-front and per month, and no matter how long they require you to commit to service, leased equipment belongs to them. It is not your property. You cannot keep it and you must surrender it according to the terms of the agreement.


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