Signing requirements by country

No required form or signature: the Civil Code mentions an inventory only “if one was made”. A report both parties sign electronically works as evidence.

The lease itself is form-free, but a fixed term binds only if agreed in writing: wet ink or a qualified electronic signature. Otherwise the lease is open-ended. Since 2026, business landlords need a five-year minimum term.

A detailed entry report, made jointly while the home is empty or in the first month, is required and annexed to the lease (Flanders art. 9; Brussels art. 220; Wallonia art. 27); an exit report if a party asks. Wallonia: signatures follow “lu et approuvé”.

Must be in writing in all three regions; an oral lease stays valid, but either party can force writing. Electronic signatures are accepted; a qualified one carries the most weight. The lease must be registered (Brussels: IRISrent and MyRent).

Landlord and tenant must draw up a record of the flat’s condition together at move-in (Zakon o najmu stanova art. 12(2)). No signature format is set; a report both sign electronically should work.

Must be in writing (art. 4(2)). Commentary says only a qualified electronic signature or wet ink meets written form; an advanced one is uncertain.

No required form for the handover protocol (předávací protokol); it is evidence. A report both parties sign electronically works.

Must be in writing (Civil Code §2237), but only the tenant can rely on a missing form, and three years’ use cures it. Electronic form that identifies the signer counts (§562); regional courts differ on simple e-signatures.

Landlords letting more than one home must inspect at move-in and move-out and give the tenant a written report (Lov om leje §§90, 187); it may be digital and needs no tenant signature. Missing it forfeits refurbishment claims.

No form; written only if a party asks (§11). Standard forms must be the authorised template (§14). Any electronic signature works.

No required form. A handover act makes the condition it records presumed (Law of Obligations Act §334); at return the landlord must inspect and promptly report defects (§336).

No form for leases of up to a year or with no end date. A fixed term over a year needs wet ink or a qualified electronic signature; otherwise the lease is open-ended and can’t be ended in the first year.

No inspection or condition report is required by law; it is customary evidence.

Must be in writing, or it counts as open-ended (Act on Residential Leases §5). Since 1 October 2026, storable electronic form counts as writing (§5a); any electronic signature works.

Required at move-in and move-out, drawn up jointly and signed by both (loi 89-462 art. 3-2), on paper or electronically, with a copy to each party when it is signed (décret 2016-382).

Must be written, on the official model lease (art. 3). Any reliable electronic signature works; only a qualified one is presumed reliable (Civil Code art. 1367).

No required form; the handover report is evidence, weighed freely. Only a qualified electronic signature gets a statutory presumption of authenticity (ZPO §371a).

Form-free in general. Written form, wet ink or a qualified electronic signature from each party, is needed for terms over a year, the fixed-term reason, staggered or index rent, and notices to end the lease; otherwise open-ended or void.

No handover record is required by law; the Housing Act only sets duties about the flat’s condition. A report both parties sign electronically works as evidence.

Must be in writing to be valid (Housing Act §2(5)), though accepted performance cures it. Electronic declarations that identify the signer and the time count (Civil Code 6:7(3)); a qualified signature gives full evidential force.

Not required by law. The Residential Tenancies Board recommends an inventory and condition report signed by both, with dated photos.

Tenancies may be oral. A fixed term over a year needs a deed or writing signed by the landlord. E-signatures count for registered land since 2022, not for unregistered land, so conveyancers use wet ink.

No required form. Without a description, the tenant is presumed to have received the home in good condition (Civil Code art. 1590). A signed report is evidence, weighed freely.

Written form for validity. Electronically it needs an advanced signature under Italy’s own rules, with ID checks, or a qualified one; an emailed-link signature likely falls short. Register within 30 days. Over nine years: a qualified signature, and a notary to record it.

Optional: the parties “may” sign a handover act at the start and the end (Residential Tenancy Law s. 8(4)). A report signed electronically works as evidence.

Must be written. A non-qualified e-signature counts as signed only if both agreed so in writing, by hand or with a qualified signature. Recording the lease in the Land Register, so it binds a buyer, needs qualified signatures.

No legal requirement found; handover acts are customary annexes. A report signed electronically should work as evidence.

Fixed-term leases must be written (Civil Code 6.579); a missing form limits evidence, not validity. A non-qualified e-signature equals handwriting only if the parties agreed in writing beforehand. Register to bind a buyer.

With a deposit, as is usual, a written entry report signed by both parties is required by move-in day; without one the landlord can’t use the deposit for damage. No exit report is required. Electronic signatures under Civil Code art. 1322-1 count.

Since 1 August 2024 every residential lease must be written, with set terms, or it is void. An electronic signature meeting art. 1322-1 works; a qualified one is safest. No notary.

Not required. A joint description shifts proof: the tenant returns the home as described; without one, the tenant is presumed to have received it as it is at the end (Civil Code 7:224).

No civil form; oral leases are valid. Since July 2023 landlords must put leases in writing (Good Landlordship Act art. 2), enforced by municipal fines. Reliable electronic signatures equal handwritten ones (Civil Code 3:15a).

For standard leases the parties draw up a handover protocol before move-in (Tenants Act art. 6c); private landlords may agree otherwise, and occasional leases are exempt. No signature form is set.

Over a year needs written form, wet ink or a qualified electronic signature, or the lease is open-ended. Occasional and institutional leases are void unless written, and need the tenant’s notarial deed.

No required form. Without a document describing the condition, the tenant is presumed to have received the home in good repair (Civil Code art. 1043).

Must be written (art. 1069), though a tenant can still prove an unwritten lease. Only a qualified electronic signature equals handwriting; others are weighed freely unless the parties agree to them.

Since 8 October 2026, a written end-of-lease condition document signed by both is required (Urban Leases Act art. 36.7); without it, good condition is presumed. Provisional until Congress confirms the decree. No move-in report required.

No form for validity; written if a party asks, and compulsory if the tenant asks (art. 37). Electronic writing counts. Recording in the land registry needs a notarial deed.

No inspection record is required by law; it is evidence.

No form; written only if a party asks (Jordabalken 12:2; Private Rental Act 2026:772 §5). Any electronic signature works.

Required in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, on the prescribed form, signed by both. Electronic copies are allowed, and an e-signature works if the other party consents. Queensland doesn’t accept a typed name. Other states not checked.

Written leases use the state’s standard form. Each state’s Electronic Transactions Act lets an e-signature meet signing rules if the other party consents.

Required in British Columbia and Alberta, signed by both with set contents, or the landlord loses deposit damage claims; in Manitoba on request; not in Ontario. Provincial e-commerce acts accept e-signatures with consent.

Ontario: the standard-form lease, signed by both. Ordinary e-signatures generally work, but Alberta’s act excludes records creating interests in land, and British Columbia’s excludes registrable leases over three years.

No central law requires a condition report. One signed by email link is admissible as an electronic record, but its signer must be proved, and using it in court needs a certificate with the file’s hash (Sakshya Adhiniyam s 63(4)).

Leases over a year must be registered with the Sub-Registrar (Registration Act s 17). Where a law requires a signature, only eSign (Aadhaar or other e-KYC) or a digital signature certificate counts electronically (IT Act s 5). Mimo’s eSign is coming soon.

Not required by law; Tenancy Services recommends one, signed and dated by both. Landlords must keep inspection reports with their tenancy records.

Must be written and signed by both (Residential Tenancies Act s 13). E-signatures are valid if both agree and they identify the signer reliably (Contract and Commercial Law Act s 226).

No statute requires a check-in inventory or says how it is signed. Deposit schemes treat a tenant-signed inventory as key evidence.

England: most private tenancies are periodic since 1 May 2026, and an e-signature is fine. A term over three years needs a deed, with a witness physically present; over seven years, registration needs conveyancer-run e-signing. Most Scottish tenancies need no formal writing.

Some states require a move-in checklist: Washington, signed and dated by both, or no deposit; Massachusetts, a landlord-signed statement within 10 days. State e-signature laws accept e-signatures where both parties agreed to sign electronically.

No federal form rule. E-SIGN and state e-signature laws let an ordinary e-signature meet writing and signature rules for leases; eviction and default notices are excluded.