Lease agreements are still too often signed “in person”: print two copies, meet the tenant or owner, swap papers, then store them in a drawer for months. When the parties are in different cities, it drags on for days. In reality, a lease can be concluded and signed entirely online — in minutes and with full legal force. Here is how to do it properly.
Can a lease agreement be signed electronically?
Yes. A document signed with a qualified electronic signature (QES) has the same legal force as a paper one with a handwritten signature — this is directly provided for by the legislation on electronic trust services. Read more in the legal force of an electronic signature in Ukraine.
An important nuance specifically for real estate: if the agreement does not require notarization, it is enough to sign it with the QES of both parties. Ukrainian law requires notarization and state registration for, among others, the lease (rent) of a building or a permanent structure for a term of three years or more. Short-term leases of housing, premises or equipment, as well as most agreements between sole traders and companies, can be executed electronically without a notary.
Which lease documents are convenient to sign online
- Lease (rental) agreement for housing, an office, premises, equipment or a vehicle.
- Guarantee agreement and deposit — recording the security payment with the owner.
- Handover act for the property at the start and end of the lease.
- Amendments — price change, term extension, early termination.
All of these documents are uniform and repetitive, so the electronic format saves the most time here.
How to sign a lease agreement online: step by step
- Upload or create the agreement in your eObig account. Just drag in a ready file (Word, PDF); or draft the text from scratch — the AI assistant will help you produce a lease draft.
- Sign with your QES right in the browser — no plugins or installs. How it works technically is in how to sign a document online without plugins.
- Send it to the other party for signature. If the tenant or owner does not use the service, use a link without registration — the person opens the document and signs with their QES without creating an account.
- Receive the signed copy. As soon as the other party signs, you see the status, and a signed copy stays with both sides.
When the parties are in different cities
This is the most common scenario in leasing: the owner is in one city, the tenant in another. Previously that meant a courier or an in-person meeting. Online signing removes the tie to geography entirely: the link is sent via messenger or email, and the QES is formed locally on each party's device. The private key is never transmitted — more on that in the security of browser-based signing.
What to do with individual tenants
An individual tenant can also sign the agreement with their QES — a file key, Diia.Signature or another medium. For them it is one click on a link, with no registration in the service. This is exactly what removes the main barrier: a person does not have to figure out an unfamiliar dashboard just to sign once.
Legal force and storage
A lease signed with a QES is accepted by courts, the tax authority and other bodies on par with a paper one. Each signature is recorded together with the time and the signer's data, and the document's event history is kept as an audit trail. Signed agreements should be kept in a secure electronic archive with search — so you can quickly find the right deal even years later. For retention periods, see how long to keep electronic documents.
In brief
- A lease can be signed entirely online with a QES — with the same legal force as a paper one.
- A notary is needed only in specific cases (in particular, a building lease for 3+ years); most leases are executed electronically without one.
- The other party — even an individual without an account — signs via a link, without registration.
- The signature is formed in the browser, the private key never leaves the device; the event history is kept for audit.
Start for free at portal.eobig.com or book a demo — and sign your first lease online today, without leaving home.