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65-408: Under the reforms unsurveyed land in an area which had been declared an agricultural reserve in designated unsettled areas could be selected and bought freehold in 40-to-320-acre (16–129 ha) lots of crown land, wherever situated at £ 1 per acre (£2 9s 5d/ha), on a deposit of five shillings per acre (12s 4d/ha), the balance to be paid within three years, an interest-free loan of three-quarters of

130-528: A 19th century increase of crofts but, particularly in Sweden, also to a shift from tenant farmers to farm laborers ( statare ) hired on yearlong contracts, paid in-kind. The lives of torpare and statare were described by prominent Swedish and Finnish novelists and writers such as Ivar Lo-Johansson , Jan Fridegård , Väinö Linna ( Under the North Star trilogy ) and Moa Martinson . The Statare system

195-483: A life estate. Many jurisdictions retain the possibility of creating a life estate , although this is uncommon. In the United States, life estates are most commonly used either to grant someone use of the property for the remainder of that person's life in a will, or by a grantor to reserve the right to continue using the property for the remainder of the grantor's life after it is sold. The right to ownership of

260-604: A parcel of the land and grant it as a subordinate fief to his own sub-tenant, a process known as sub-enfeoffing or " subinfeudation ". The 1290 Statute of Quia Emptores abolished subinfeudation and instead allowed the sale of fee simple estates. William Blackstone defined fee simple as the estate in land that a person has when the lands are given to him and his heirs absolutely, without any end or limit put to his estate. Land held in fee simple can be conveyed to whomsoever its owner pleases; it can also be mortgaged or put up as security. Owners of real property in fee simple have

325-576: A periodic tenancy or a fixed term. In the cycle of animal husbandry and land use and improvement, the long-term effect of the Farm Business Tenancy on the landscape of Britain is not yet proven. It was predicted by landowners and other industry spokesmen that the 1995 Act would create opportunities for new tenants by allowing large areas of new lettings but this has not happened in practice as most landowners have continued to favour share farming or management agreements over formal tenancies and

390-500: A result, though the husmenn were technically free to leave the land at any time, their poor economic state made them in essence "economic serfs". Failing to own their own land also made tenant farmers ineligible to vote according to the Norwegian Constitution at the time. The number of tenant farmers in the country grew during the 19th century, rising from 48,571 in 1825 to 65,060 in 1855, the latter figure representing

455-476: A son or a widow. Their situation was usually poor but, contrary to in Denmark, they were in theory always free to leave. The croft's lease was typically paid in the form of corvée . They would work their own land as well as that of a landowning farmer ( bonde ), noble or other. In some aspects their situation made them easy victims of impressment . Population growth and landreforms ( enskiftet ) contributed to

520-426: A term of years, a lease for a specified term, such as in an estate for years . A fee also could be limited through the method of its inheritance, such as by an "entailment", which created a fee tail . Traditionally, fee tail was created by words of grant such as "to N. and the male heirs of his body", which would restrict those who could inherit the property. If no heirs could be found, then the property would revert to

585-599: A trade or business will fall within the limited protection of the 1995 Act so as to enjoy (provided the term is more than two years in length or there is a yearly tenancy) a mandatory minimum twelve months written notice to quit, including in respect of fixed terms. There is for all tenancies within the scope of the Act a mandatory tenants' right to remove fixtures and buildings (section 8) together with compensation for improvements (Part III). The rent review provisions in Part II may be

650-410: Is a "fee simple absolute", which is without limitations on the land's use (such as qualifiers or conditions that disallow certain uses of the land or subject the vested interest to termination). The rights of the fee-simple owner are limited by government powers of taxation , compulsory purchase , police power , and escheat , and may also be limited further by certain encumbrances or conditions in

715-399: Is a person ( farmer or farmworker ) who resides on land owned by a landlord . Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying amounts of capital and management. Depending on the contract, tenants can make payments to

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780-420: Is a tenant farmer who usually provides no capital and pays fees with crops. A hired hand is an agricultural employee even though he or she may live on the premises and exercise a considerable amount of control over the agricultural work, such as a foreman. A sharecropper is a farm tenant who pays rent with a portion (often half) of the crop he raises and who brings little to the operation besides his family labor;

845-412: Is created when a grantor places a condition on a fee simple estate (in the deed ). When a specified event happens, the estate may become void or subject to annulment. There are two types of defeasible estates: fee simple determinable and the fee simple subject to a condition subsequent. If the grantor uses durational language in the condition such as "to A. as long as the land is used for a park", then upon

910-514: Is what is owned rather than the land it represents. The fee simple estate is also called "estate in fee simple" or "fee-simple title", or sometimes simply "freehold" in England and Wales. From the start of the Norman period, when feudalism was introduced to England, the tenant or "holder" of a fief could not alienate (sell) it from the possession of his overlord. However, a tenant could separate

975-464: The Black Death in the mid-14th century, the number of free tenants substantially increased. Many tenant farmers became affluent and socially well connected, and employed a substantial number of labourers and managed more than one farm. Tenancy could be either in perpetuity or rotated by the owners. Cottiers (cottagers) held much less land. The 17th century to the early 19th century witnessed

1040-543: The Church of Ireland and State. The majority of the people had no access to land. 1.5% of the population owned 33.7% of the island, and 50% of the country was in the hands of only 750 families. Absenteeism was common and detrimental to the country's progress. Tenants often sub-rented small plots on a yearly basis from local farmers paying for them by labour service by a system, known as conacre , most without any lease or land rights. Irish smallholders were indistinguishable from

1105-493: The United States , fee simple owners are usually subject to property tax and the revenue generated is directed to the municipality's general fund. Other local tax assessments called "special purpose taxes" may be assessed in addition to the property taxes for specific purposes such as infrastructure improvements. Real estate owned as a condominium is usually similarly owned in fee simple, but typically subject to rules in

1170-465: The deed , such as, for example, a condition that required the land to be used as a public park, with a reversion interest in the grantor if the condition fails; this is a fee simple conditional . The word "fee" is related to the term fief , meaning a feudal landholding. Feudal land tenures existed in several varieties, most of which involved the tenant having to supply some service to his overlord, such as knight-service (military service). If

1235-477: The freehold was assigned under mortgage to tenant farmers and farm workers. The focus had been on the compulsory purchase of untenanted estates so that they could be divided into smaller units for local families. In 1983, the Commission ceased acquiring land; this signified the start of the end of the commission's reform of Irish land ownership, though freehold transfers of farmland still had to be signed off by

1300-410: The 1860s and Canada 's Dominion Lands Act of 1872. Fee simple In English law , a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land , a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., permanently) under common law , whereas the highest possible form of ownership

1365-615: The Act of 1903 and the consequential Act of 1909, the national situation was completely transformed. When in March 1920, the Irish Estate Commission reviewed the development since 1903 under these Acts, they estimated that 83 million sterling had been advanced for 9 million acres (36,000 km ) transferred, whilst a further 2 million acres (8,100 km ) were pending costing 24 million sterling. By 1914, 75% of occupiers were buying out their landlords, mostly under

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1430-498: The Commission into the 1990s. The commission was dissolved in March 1999. In Japan, landowners turned over their land to families of tenant farmers to manage. During the Meiji period , Japanese tenant farmers were traditionally cultivators rather than capitalistic or entrepreneurial venture by nature, paid in kind for their labors. Approximately 30% of land was held by tenants. Many aspects of Tokugawa feudalism continued. After WWII,

1495-542: The Farm Land Reform Law of 1946 banned absentee landlordism, re-distributing land and permitted tenants to buy. By the 1950s, it virtually eliminated the landlord-tenant relationship. Historically, despite Norway being practically a Danish province for almost 300 years before 1814, the countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (with Finland) had differing approaches to land tenure. A tenant farmer in Norway

1560-399: The United States. To convey an estate in fee simple at common law, the deed or will must state "to B and his heirs". Anything short of those words transferred a smaller estate. Modern deeds usually follow a standardized form. There is a presumption that the testator intends to convey his or her property in fee simple unless the will indicates an intention to transfer a smaller estate, such as

1625-466: The beginning of 1885. Selectors were required to live on their land for three years and to make improvements worth £1 per acre. Speculation was to be prevented by requiring actual residence on the land. In return pastoralists were protected by granting them, at the conclusion of their present leases, annual leases in the settled districts and five yearly leases elsewhere, with a maximum area or carrying capacity, and an increase in rent by appraisement of

1690-545: The breakup or reduction of many large estates, allowing many tenants to buy their holdings at favourable prices. The landmark 1948 Act was enacted at a time when war-time food rationing was still in force and sought to encourage long-term investment by tenants by granting them lifetime security of tenure. Under the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, security was extended to spouses and relatives of tenants for two successions, providing that they had been earning

1755-581: The cashless system. Economic historians Lee Alston and Joseph Ferrie (1999) describe the system as essentially an informal contract that: Tenant farmers often had agricultural managers who supervised their activities. In 1907, for instance, J. H. Netterville began employment for the Panola Company, an agricultural business founded by William Mackenzie Davidson in the rich farming area of St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana in

1820-430: The conveying document's language is unclear. The claim that no rent or similar obligations are due from the owner of property in fee simple is only partially true. For example, a rentcharge may exist requiring a freeholder to pay a fixed sum of money closely resembling rent, and many jurisdictions have created financial obligations that may be imposed on a freehold estate. England and Wales impose an estate charge . In

1885-692: The cottiers of England. The abuse of tenant farmers led to widespread emigration to the United States and the colonies and was a key factor within the Home Rule Movement . They also underlined a deterioration in Protestant-Catholic relationships, although there were notable elements of cooperation in reform attempts such as the Tenant Right League of the 1850s. Following the Great Famine tenant farmers were

1950-415: The declaration of condominium or created by the condominium association, such as paying required monthly fees for maintaining the property's common areas; however, these are generally treated legally as covenants running with the land (contracts binding on the possessors of real property) imposing an affirmative duty to pay money rather than as rent for property held in fee simple. Fee – A right in law to

2015-429: The definition of "agriculture" in section 96(1) was wide enough to include various uses that in themselves were not agricultural but were deemed so if ancillary to agriculture (e.g. woodlands). The essence of the code was to establish complex constraints on the landlord's ability to give the notice to quit while also converting fixed-term tenancies into yearly tenancies at the conclusion of the fixed term. In addition, there

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2080-452: The donor's lifetime. If previous grantors of a fee simple estate do not create any conditions for subsequent grantees, then the title is called fee simple absolute . A fee simple absolute is the highest estate permitted by law, and it gives the holder full possessory rights and obligations now and in the future. Other fee simple estates in real property include fee simple defeasible (or fee simple determinable ) estates. A defeasible estate

2145-543: The existence of the 1995 Act and for those tenancies falling within section 4 of the 1995 Act. For all other tenancies granted on or after 1 September 1995, their regulation is within the 1995 Act framework. That Act was altered with effect from 18 October 2006 by the Regulatory Reform (Agricultural Tenancies)(England and Wales) Order 2006 SI 2006/2805, which also contains changes to the 1986 Act. Tenancies granted after 18 October 2006 over agricultural land used for

2210-649: The first attempt to resolve problems of tenants rights in Ireland and the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 went even further to inspire campaigners even in Wales. The Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act 1885 followed, finally the great breakthrough after the successful 1902 Land Conference , the enactment of the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 whereby the state financed tenants to completely buy out their landlords. Under

2275-408: The grantor; this is a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent. In most jurisdictions in the United States these concepts have been modified by statute. Fee simple determinable was generally preferred by courts in the common law of the early United States. Recently, that trend has reversed, and most courts in the United States will find a fee simple subject to condition subsequent in situations where

2340-424: The growth of large estates, and the opportunity for a farmer to hold land other than by tenancy was significantly reduced, with the result that by the 19th century, about 90% of agricultural land area and holdings were tenanted, although these figures declined markedly after World War II, to around 60% in 1950 and only 35% of agricultural land area in 1994. High rates of inheritance taxes in the postwar period led to

2405-426: The happening of the specified event (in this case if the land is used for anything other than a park), the estate will automatically terminate and revert to the grantor or the grantor's estate; this is called a fee simple determinable. If the grantor uses language such as "but if alcohol is served", then the grantor or the heirs have a right of entry if the condition occurs, but the estate does not automatically revert to

2470-507: The height of the husmann population in Norway, most of whom lived in the eastern part of the country. Given their difficult economic and social position in Norway, many Norwegian husmenn immigrated to Canada and the United States throughout the 19th century. Following the revolutions of 1848 the husmenn's cause was taken up by Marcus Thrane . Thrane fought for the husmenn's rights at home and also encouraged them to emigrate and seek better fortunes abroad. The number of husmenn began to decline in

2535-481: The land was on the market. The work of Alexander Grant McLean , Surveyor General of New South Wales facilitated the introduction of these Land Acts. Subsequently, there were struggles between squatters and selectors, and the laws were circumvented by corruption and the acquisition of land by various schemes, such as the commissioning of selections to be passed eventually to squatters and the selection of key land such as land with access to water by squatters to maintain

2600-496: The landlord usually furnishing working stock, tools, fertilizer, housing, fuel, and seed, and often providing regular advice and oversight. Tenant farming in the North was historically a step on the "agricultural ladder" from hired hand or sharecropper taken by young farmers as they accumulated enough experience and capital to buy land (or buy out their siblings when a farm was inherited). About two-thirds of sharecroppers were white,

2665-596: The largest class of people. Discontent led to the Land War of the 1870s onwards, the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 , the founding of the Land League 1879 to establish fair rents and the fixity of tenures. The movement played a key element in the unification of country and urban classes and the creation of a national identity not existing before. The Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 stands out as

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2730-577: The majority of new lettings under the Act have been to existing farmers, often owner-occupiers taking on extra land at significantly higher rents than could be afforded by a traditional tenant. From the nineteenth century on, tenant farming immigrants came to Canada not just from the British Isles but also the United States of America. Until about 1900, the majority of Ireland was held by landlords, as much as 97% in 1870, and rented out to tenant farmers who had to pay rent to landlords and taxes to

2795-484: The majority of their income from the holding for five years. Succession rights were however withdrawn for new tenancies in 1984 and this was consolidated in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. These two statutes also laid down rules for the determination of rents by the arbitration process. The 1986 statute covered tenancies over agricultural land where the land was used for a trade or business and

2860-508: The original grantor's heirs. Most common law countries have abolished entailment by statute. An estate in fee simple denotes the maximum ownership in land that can be legally granted; it is the greatest possible aggregate of rights, powers, privileges and immunities available in land. The three hallmarks of the fee simple estate are that it is alienable , devisable and descendible . Rules requiring words of general inheritance to create fee simple by conveyance have been abolished by statute in

2925-485: The owner either of a fixed portion of the product, in cash or in a combination. The rights the tenant has over the land, the form, and measures of payment vary across systems (geographically and chronologically). In some systems, the tenant could be evicted at whim ( tenancy at will ); in others, the landowner and tenant sign a contract for a fixed number of years ( tenancy for years or indenture ). In most developed countries today, at least some restrictions are placed on

2990-543: The previous legislation in the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 and the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948. For Scotland see Crofting , a traditional and long-established means of tenant and subsistence farming. Tenant farming has been important in the US from the 1870s to the present. Tenants typically bring their own tools and animals. To that extent it is distinguished from being a sharecropper , which

3055-503: The price. Alternatively at the end of the three years, the balance could be treated as an indefinite loan, as long as 5% interest was paid each year. The Crown Lands Acts consisted of two separate acts: The Crown Lands Alienation Act of 1861 No 26a and the Crown Lands Occupation Act of 1861 No 27a These acts were amended in 1875 and 1880. The Robertson acts were replaced completely by new legislation with effect from

3120-402: The privilege of interest in the property during their lifetime and typically have a say in determining who gets to own an interest in the property after their death. Historically, estates could be limited in time. Common temporal limitations include life estate , a land ownership that terminates upon the grantee's (or another person's) death even if the land had been granted to a third party, or

3185-399: The property after the death of the life estate owner is called the remainder estate . In England and Wales fee simple is the only freehold estate that remains; a life estate can only be created in equity and is not a right in property. In the United States, retained life estates are often used by donors who intend to leave property as bequests to charitable organizations while retaining

3250-733: The rest black. Sharecroppers, the poorest of the poor, organized for better conditions. The racially integrated Southern Tenant Farmers Union made gains for sharecroppers in the 1930s. Sharecropping had diminished in the 1940s due to the Great Depression, farm mechanization, and other factors. In the Black Belt in the American South until the mid 20th century, the predominant agricultural system involved white land owners and African-American tenant farmers. Very little cash changed hands. The few local banks were small and cash

3315-420: The rights of landlords to evict tenants under normal circumstances. Historically, rural society utilised a three-tier structure of landowners ( nobility , gentry , yeomanry ), tenant farmers, and farmworkers . Originally, tenant farmers were known as peasants . Under Anglo-Norman law , almost all tenants were bonded to the land, and were therefore also villeins , but after the labour shortage occasioned by

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3380-432: The runs. The pastoralist retained the pre-emptive right to buy one twenty-fifth of his lease in addition to improved areas, and also possessed the pre-lease to three times the area of the freehold. In addition they were to continue to possess the right to request the survey and auctioning of large parcels of their lease. This meant that they could bid at short notice for such land while other potential bidders were unaware that

3445-411: The second half of the 19th century, and by 1910 they made up less than 5% of Norwegian society. The term torpare/torppari (Swedish/Finnish for crofter ) refers to a slightly different type of tenant farmers, less secure than the inheritable usufruct right as åbo but sometimes with contracts as long as 50 years. The lease was, depending on the landowner's good will, in practice often transferred to

3510-470: The subject of choice to a much greater extent than previously. Disputes under the Act are usually, by the terms of Part IV, the subject of statutory arbitration controlled by the framework of the Arbitration Act 1996 . The current regime under the 1995 Act for regulating tenancies, commonly known as Farm Business Tenancies, permits the creation of a clearly and easily terminable interest, whether by

3575-448: The tenant's overlord was the king, grand serjeanty , then this might require providing many different services, such as providing horses in time of war or acting as the king's ceremonial butler. These fiefs gave rise to a complex relationship between landlord and tenant, involving duties on both sides. For example, in return for receiving his tenant's fealty or homage , the overlord had a duty to protect his tenant. When feudal land tenure

3640-456: The tenants picked the cotton, and turned it all over to the landowners. They sold the cotton on the national market and used part of the funds to pay the debts owed to the country store. The cycle then started all over again. Landowners also worked some of the land directly, using black labor paid in cash. The landowners held all the political power, and fought vigorously against government welfare programs that would provide cash that would undermine

3705-668: The two Acts. In all, under the pre-UK Land Acts over 316,000 tenants purchased their holdings amounting to 11,500,000 acres (47,000 km ) out of a total of 20 million in the country. On the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Irish Land Commission was reconstituted by the Land Law (Commission) Act, 1923. The commission had acquired and supervised the transfer of up to 13 million acres (53,000 km ) of farmland between 1885 and 1920 where

3770-582: The use of land; i.e. a fief . Simple – in the unconstrained sense: The English word fee ultimately goes back to the Indo-European root *peku , which refers to moveable wealth, that is, cattle. The Latin word pecunia , money, also comes from this root and becomes pecuniary in English. The root appears in Modern German as Vieh , cattle, beast. Tenant farmer A tenant farmer

3835-400: The use of the property during their lifetimes. The donor receives a tax deduction for the gift of their remainder interest in the property, and at the donor's death, the property passes to the organization without being subject to probate . Retained life estate gifts often involve agreements about acceptable uses of the property, payment of real estate taxes, property maintenance, etc. during

3900-610: The viability of their pastoral leases. The Land Acts accelerated the alienation of Crown land that had been acquired under the principle of terra nullius , and hence accelerated the dispossession of Indigenous Australians . The Land Acts paralleled the demands for similar legislation amending the United States Preemption Act of 1841 , culminating in the Homestead Act of 1862, and was succeeded by similar legislation in other Australian colonies in

3965-522: Was a uniform rent ascertainment scheme contained in section 12. It became difficult to obtain new tenancies as a result of landlords' reluctance to have a tenant protected by the 1986 Act and in 1995, the government of the day, with the support of industry organizations, enacted a new market-oriented code in the form of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 . The protection of the 1986 Act remains in respect of tenancies created prior to

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4030-898: Was abolished in 1918 (Finland) and 1945 (Sweden), the Torpare system more gradually. Scotland has its own independent legal system and the legislation there differs from that of England and Wales. Neither the AHA 1986 nor the ATA 1995 applies in Scotland. The relevant legislation for Scotland is rather the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 with the following amendments in The Public Services Reform (Agricultural Holdings) (Scotland) Order 2011, The Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2012 and The Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) 2003 Remedial Order 2014. These supersede

4095-540: Was abolished, all fiefs became "simple", without conditions attached to the tenancy. In English common law, the Crown had radical title or the allodium of all land in England, meaning that it was the ultimate "owner" of all land in the past feudal era. Allodial title is reserved to governments under a civil law structure. However, the Crown can grant ownership in an abstract entity – called an estate in land – which

4160-431: Was known as a husmann (plural: husmenn ) and were most common in the mid-19th century when they constituted around one-quarter of the country's population. Heavy demands were placed on these tenants by their landlords, the bønder or land-owning farmers. The majority of the husmann's working hours were usually taken up by work for the landlord, leaving him little time to work on his own land or better his own situation. As

4225-412: Was scarce and had to be hoarded for taxes. Landowners needed a great deal of labor at harvest time to pick the cash crop, cotton. The typical plan was to divide old plantations into small farms that were assigned to the tenants. Throughout the year the tenants lived rent-free. They tended their own gardens. Every week, they bought food and supplies on credit through the local country store. At harvest time,

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