lands, &c. in fee simple or otherwise, to the use and 11. Lord Bacon, in his reading on this statute, observes, that in consequence of the words "were seised" a doubt had arisen whether the statute was not confined to rents in use at the time; but that this was explained in the following clause" as if a sufficient grant or other lawful conveyance had been made and executed to them by such as were or should be seised to the use or intent of any such rent, to be Rivetts v. Godson, had, made, or paid, according to the very trust and Tit.32. c. 10. intent thereof." Gilb. 19. 12. A rent granted for equality of partition be- Lit. § 252. tween coparceners, is called a rent charge of common right; because the coparcener has given a valuable consideration for it. A rent granted in lieu of lands upon an exchange is of the same nature; as also a 1 Inst. 169 a, rent granted to a widow, out of lands of which she is dowable, in lieu of her dower. 13. A rent seck or barren rent is nothing more than Rent Seck. a rent, for the recovery of which no power of distress is given, either by the rules of the common law, or the agreement of the parties. 14. Although every species of rent is comprised in Other Sorts the preceding divisions, yet there are some rents of Rents. which are known by particular names. Rents of assize are the certain established rents of 2 Inst. 19. the freeholders, and ancient copyholders of manors. Fee Farmı 2 Inst. 143 b. 2 Inst. 44. Doug. R. 627.n. Bradbury v. What gives Seisin of a Those of the freeholders are frequently called chief rents, redditus capitales; and both sorts are indifferently denominated quit rents, quieti redditus; because thereby the tenant goes quit and free of all other services. 15. A fee farm rent is a perpetual rent reserved on a conveyance in fee simple. And Lord Coke says, if a rent be to the whole value of the land, or to the fourth part of its value, it is called a fee farm. Mr. Hargrave has observed on this passage, that the true meaning of a fee farm is a perpetual farm or rent; the name being founded on the perpetuity of the rent or service, not on the quantum : that the sometimes confining the term fee farm to rents of a certain value, probably arose, partly from the statute of Gloucester, which gives the cessavit only where the rent amounts to one fourth of the value of the land; and partly from its being most usual, on grants in fee farm, not to reserve less than a third or fourth of such value. 16. After the statute quia emptores, granting in fee farm, except by the King, became impracticable; because the grantor parting with the fee, is, by the operation of that statute, without any reversion; and without a reversion, there cannot be a rent service. A perpetual rent may however be reserved on a conveyance of lands in fee simple; and if a power of distress and entry is given to the grantor of the land, his heirs and assigns, the rent will be good as a rent charge, but not as a fee farm rent. 17. With respect to the mode of acquiring seisin of a rent; in the case of a rent service, the person' Tit. 5. c. 1. entitled cannot acquire a seisin in deed before the $ 12. rent becomes due; for nothing but the actual receipt of it will have that effect. As to a rent charge, the only mode of acquiring a seisin in deed of it, when created by grant, is by the actual receipt of the whole or of a part of it. And formerly it was usual, where a freehold estate in a rent charge was created, to pay the grantee a penny in the name of seisin of the rent: but where a rent is created by means of a conveyance to uses, the grantee immediately acquires a seisin, by the words of the statute. a Rent may 1 142 a. 18. A rent must in general issue out of lands, or Out of what out of tenements of a corporeal nature, whereto the be reserved. grantee may have recourse to distrain. A rent could Inst. 47 a. not therefore be formerly reserved out of an advowson Gilb. 20. 22. in gross, tithes, or other incorporeal hereditaments: because, as Lord C. B. Gilbert says, every incorporeal right, till by age it was formed into a prescription, did originally rise by grant from the Crown; and such grants seem to have been made for particular purposes; as the grant of a fair, to be under the protection of the lord; the grant of a common for the benefit of the beasts of all the tenants: therefore, to let such incorporeal inheritances for rent, was esteemed contrary to the design and purpose of such grants. 446. 19. A rent cannot be reserved out of a rent; 2 Roll. Ab. therefore, if a person grants lands in tail rendering rent, and after grants the rent for life, or in tail, rendering rent, this is a void reservation; because it passes as a rent seck. And if A. has a rent service, Keilw. 161. or rent charge, and grants it to another for term of life, by deed indented, rendering to A. certain rent; the reservation is void; because rent cannot be charged with other rent; for it cannot be put in view. Hill's Case, ante, § 28. Knight's 54. being in arrear for one manor, the purchaser entered into all three. Adjudged, that his entry was not lawful; for though the words were joint, yet the reservation and the rents were several. 31. A., seised of White Acre, Black Acre, and Green Acre, leased all three to J. S. for 90 years, rendering for Black Acre 3s. 4 d., for White Acre 10s., and for Green Acre 20s., quarterly; with a clause of re-entry, if any part or parcel of the said rent should be behind, &c. W. R. purchased the reversion of Black Acre, brought an ejectment for 10s., being a quarter's rent, and had judgement; these being several reservations and conditions. A difference was taken between this and Winter's case, the rent in that being originally entire, whereas here it was originally several; and in that case the condition was, that if any part of the rent was behind, the lessor should re-enter into the whole. 32. But where there is one reservation of rent in gross, at first; though it be afterwards divided and severed into different parts, yet it will be one entire rent. 33. The prior of St. John made a lease of divers Case, 5 Rep. houses for years, yielding the yearly rent of 51. 10s. 11d.; viz. for one house 31. Os. 11 d., for another 20s., and for the other houses several rents, residue of the said rent; with a condition, that if the said rent of 57. 10s. 11d. was behind in part, or in all, then the prior and his successors should re-enter. Resolved, that this was one reservation of the rent in gross, at the first; and the viz. afterwards did not make a severance of it, but was rather a several declaration of the several values of each parcel; by which it appeared how, and at what rates, the whole rent was reserved. 34. In the above case, Roodes, Justice, said, if two Moo. 202. tenants in common make a lease upon condition, rendering rent; the law will construe the demise, the condition, and the rent, to be several; because the tenants in common have several reversions. 143 b. 35. With respect to the persons to whom a rent To what may be reserved, Littleton lays it down as a certain Persons. Lit. § 346. rule, that no rent service can be reserved, upon any 1 Inst. 47 a feoffment, gift, or lease, to any person but the feoffor, donor, or lessor, or to their heirs; and in no manner to a stranger. The reason of this rule is, because the rent being payable as a return for the possession of the land, can only be reserved to the person from whom the land passes. 61. 36. As there can be no reservation of rent service Gilb. Rents; to a stranger during the life of the lessor; neither can a rent service be reserved after the death of the lessor, to any person but the reversioner: for to him the land would belong, if it were not demised. 2 Saund.370. 37. If a person makes a lease, to commence after 2 Roll. Ab. his death, reserving rent to his heirs; this will be 447. deemed a good rent service, arising to the heir, not by way of purchase, but as incident to the reversion, descending to the heir; and therefore may be released. by the ancestor, during his life; which it would not be if it was a new purchase in the heir. Hob. 130. 38. But where a father and his son and heir ap- Oates v. parent demised lands for years, to begin after the Frith, death of the father, rendering rent to the son: the father died, the lessee entered, and the rent being behind, the son distrained. Resolved, that this reservation of rent was utterly void; for although the son did prove heir, it bettered not the case by the event but the reservation should have been to the heir or heirs of the lessor, by that name; for that VOL. III. U |