6 Items to Spell Out in Your Private Hunting Lease

The old adage goes: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. For hunting leases, this is especially true. 

Most conflicts between hunters and private landowners can be resolved by simply laying out expectations in advance. By including these six specific items in your hunting lease, you can ensure a good experience for all involved. 

Why hunt private vs. public?

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth it to draw up, negotiate, and sign a private hunting lease, trust us: it is. Despite being more accessible and generally less hassle to use, public hunting ground has drawbacks: bag limits, specified hunting seasons, hunting method restrictions, and strict licensing requirements.  

Plus, because public ground is more accessible for the average hunter, it’s more competitive. You’ll likely have a harder time finding and bagging the game you’re most interested in. 

Private hunting ground, on the other hand, helps circumvent these challenges. Because the rules are set by individual landowners, they’re generally more lax—and up for negotiation in most cases.  

There may be some additional responsibilities required. For instance, owners may require certain wildlife management or conservation practices, essentially employing you in managing the ecosystem as a condition of the lease. But for most hunters, it’s worth the price of admission. 

Why you need a written hunting lease

If you’re thinking about going with a handshake agreement, don’t! Although the simple, straightforward approach may seem appealing, you’ll run into serious problems down the line. Here are three of the biggest reasons to go with a written lease. 

Clear expectations

Probably the most obvious benefit of a written lease is clarity. When everything is spelled out in advance, there’s less room for future confusion. Not only will this help with conflict resolution (more on that in a second), but it also helps you figure out whether a certain lease is worth getting into in the first place. 

These expectations can and often include: 

• Hunting rules, boundaries, and responsibilities

• Insurance requirements

• Expectations for habitat management and land maintenance

• Communication expectations, including frequency and preferred media

Clarity is also important if you want to build and maintain a long-term relationship with a given landowner. You’ll know in advance what an owner is looking for in an ideal tenant. By meeting and exceeding those standards, you make it more likely they’ll want to work with you in the future. 

Conflict resolution

Accidents happen. Problems arise. Any relationship will inevitably have some degree of conflict come up. Since conflict is unavoidable, you need a clearly defined way of handling it.

Written land leases not only provide a standard by which conflict resolution can be based, but it also provides the means and processes by which you manage that conflict. Working all of this out in advance before emotions and tensions get high can lead to better outcomes for all involved. 

Reduced liability

For both owner and lessee, laying out terms and conditions of land use can reduce liability for all involved. Insurance and permit requirements, conservation practices, and general land lease practices all carry reduced risk of liability when vetted by legal experts in advance. 

6 items to spell out in your hunting lease

Private hunters should, at a minimum, make sure the following terms and conditions are spelled out in detail in your written lease. Clarity on these six points will almost certainly reduce stress and conflict, providing an overall better hunting experience. 

DISCLAIMER: The following is intended for educational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. Please seek professional counsel when negotiating your own hunting leases. 

1. Lease type

Yes, defining the type of lease seems like a basic requirement. But you’d be surprised how often people neglect to spell out these terms. There are various types of hunting leases, including these:

• Annual lease. These leases allow hunters access to all legal wildlife species over the course of a year. Annual leases can also include camping, fishing, and other use cases. 

• Multi-year lease. Hunters in good standing with a landowner can often transition from an annual to multi-year lease. Often these agreements require hunters to be more active in land management, including habitat management; road, gate, for fence improvements; or guarding against trespassers or poachers. 

• Seasonal leases. These agreements give hunters property access to hunt for a single species. 

• Short-term leases. These leases cover day-long, weekend, or week-long hunts. These are especially common for hunting small game or waterfowl. 

2. Land usage & restrictions

With public land, usage and restrictions are spelled out by law. Although state and local authorities will have some baseline requirements for private land leases, individual owners have a lot of say in how that land is used.

Many owners will implement the following usage requirements: 

• Game restrictions. Landowners can either provide leases that provide unrestricted access to all wildlife species, or limit hunting to particular types of game. 

• Non-hunting usage. Many hunters will use land for other activities than hunting, including fishing, hiking, camping, etc. If you want to engage in these, it’s better to ask permission than forgiveness. 

• Conservation & land enhancements. These can include cover crops, wildlife food plots, fence repair, and other property upkeep and maintenance. 

• Protection against trespassers. A condition of the land use may include monitoring for trespassers and reporting them to the local authorities. Specific protocols and expectations for these situations should definitely be spelled out in the lease. 

3. Conservation requirements

We’ve mentioned several times that landowners may require certain conservation practices as a condition of using their land. Let’s take a look at some of the most common:

• Habitat management. Landowners may require hunters to plant cover crops, maintain wildlife food plots, and specific waste disposal practices to preserve a thriving ecosystem. 

• Road, gate, and fence repair. Especially for multi-year leases, landowners may require hunters to pitch in and help with maintaining the property. Sometimes, this comes with an adjustment to the baseline lease amount. 

• Bag limits. To avoid depleting the wildlife population, landowners may implement bag limits on all game, or for specific species. 

• Hunting seasons. Although not all landowners will observe strict hunting seasons, some may require them to allow wildlife populations ample time to repopulate. 

4. Check-in requirements

Although state and local authorities will have specific requirements for checking-in and tagging big game, it’s a good idea to work out with the landowner any additional requirements. For example, they may require that evidence of the species’ sex and species remain until check-in.

5. Insurance requirements

All hunting parties should have basic liability insurance before beginning their hunting trips. Landowners may require other types of coverage to address more specific concerns. Make sure all of these details—including the type and amount of coverage—are all spelled out in the lease. 

6. Renewal terms

To ensure a smooth and seamless renewal process, make sure notice for renewal (or non-renewal) periods are included in the lease. This includes dates, means of communication, and terms for renegotiation, if applicable. 

Final thoughts on drawing up your hunting lease

Drawing up a hunting lease in writing is key to avoiding miscommunication and conflict that could otherwise hinder your hunt. When you lease private hunting land through the CommonGround marketplace, we make sure these terms and others are spelled out plainly, and keep the entire process transparent. 

Ready to plan your next hunting trip? Search for available ground on the CommonGround marketplace today.