Apartments can sometimes be bought, but more commonly, people go about acquiring apartments by means of either rent or lease. In order to lease an apartment, potential renters will engage in an apartment lease, a type of lease that is used in arrangements that involve renting an apartment. An apartment lease is usually conducted directly between the owner and renter, called lessee and lessor, or may be done professionally through real estate firms or management companies. Similar to other types of leases, including car and equipment leases, the apartment lease includes an agreement that usually lasts a fixed term of time, ranging from a month to to as many as two years. Apartment lease agreements may include provisions that aren't included in others such as pet policies or restrictions on smoking.