Short answer. Article 1642 recognizes two kinds: a lease of things, and a lease of work and service. Renting a physical item falls under the first; hiring someone to perform work or render a service falls under the second, even though both are treated as forms of lease.
What the law says
The contract of lease may be of things, or of work and service.
Civil Code, Article 1642 — The Two Kinds of Lease. Read the full provision →
Two kinds, one category
Article 1642 sets out the basic division within the Civil Code's treatment of lease. The contract of lease may be of things, or of work and service. Both fall under the umbrella of lease as a legal category, even though what is actually being exchanged looks very different between the two — one involves temporary use of property, the other involves someone's labor or a specific service being performed.
Lease of things: the more familiar kind
A lease of things is what most people picture when they hear the word lease — renting an apartment, a vehicle, equipment, or any other item for a period of time in exchange for payment. The lessee gets the use and enjoyment of the thing, without acquiring ownership of it, for as long as the lease continues, and the owner remains entitled to have it returned once the lease ends.
Lease of work and service: a different subject matter, same legal family
A lease of work and service covers arrangements where what is being provided is not a physical thing to use, but labor, work, or a service to be performed. Hiring a contractor to build something, or engaging someone to perform a specific service, falls into this category. Even though no physical item changes hands for temporary use, the Civil Code treats this arrangement as a form of lease as well, subject to its own set of rules within that broader category.
Why the classification matters
Knowing which kind of lease you are dealing with matters because the Civil Code's more detailed rules on leases branch out differently depending on whether the subject is a thing or work and service — the specific obligations of the parties, and how disputes over performance are analyzed, are not identical between the two. A dispute over a rented apartment, for instance, turns on questions about the condition and use of the property, while a dispute over a lease of work turns on whether the work or service was actually performed as agreed. Article 1642 is the starting point that tells you which branch of lease law actually governs your particular contract, before you get into the more detailed rules that follow it.