A ground rent is a form of lease in which unimproved land is leased for a long term for purposes of improvement by the tenant. This article or section should include material from Tenancy agreement A lease is a contract conveying from one person (the lessor) to another person (the lessee) the right to use and control some article of property for a specified period of time (the term), without conveying ownership, in exchange for... Land is sometimes used synonymously with country. ... A tenant (from the Latin tenere, to hold), in legal contexts, holds real property by some form of title from a landlord. ...

In Roman law, ground rent (solarium) was an annual rent payable by the lessee of a superficies or perpetual lease of building land. Roman law is the legal system of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, from its earliest days to the time of the Eastern Roman Empire, even to the time of the Emperor Justinian I after the fall of Rome itself. ... Rent can refer to: a payment made for the temporary use of something owned by someone else. ...

In English law, it appears that the term was at one time popularly used for the houses and lands out of which ground rents issue as well as for the rents themselves (cf. Maundy v. Maundy, 2 Strange, 1020); and Lord Eldon observed in 1815 that the context in which the term occurred may materially vary its meaning (Stewart v. Alliston, I Mer. 26). English law, the law of England and Wales (but not Scotland and Northern Ireland) is considered by some to be one of Britains great gifts to the world. ... 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The contemporary accepted meaning of ground rent is the rent at which land is let for the purpose of improvement by building, i.e. a rent charged in respect of the land only and not in respect of the buildings to be placed thereon. It thus conveys the idea of something lower than a rack rent; and accordingly if a vendor described property as property for which he paid a ground rent, without any further explanation of the term, a purchaser would not be obliged to accept the property if it turned out to be held at a rack rent. But while a rack rent is generally higher in amount than a ground rent, the latter is usually better secured, as it carries with it the reversionary interest in buildings and improvements put on the ground after the date at which the ground rent was fixed, and accordingly ground rents have been regarded as a good investment. Trustees empowered to invest money on the security of freehold or copyhold hereditaments, may invest upon freehold ground rents reserved out of house property. In estimating the amount that may be so invested, account may be taken of the value of the houses, as, if the ground rents are not paid, the landlord can re-enter. Again, where a settlement authorizes trustees to purchase lands or hereditaments in fee simple or possession, a purchase of freehold ground rents has been held to be proper. The word trustee is a legal term that refers to a member of a trust, which can be set up for any of a variety of purposes, and is entrusted with the administration of property on behalf of others. ... Freehold is a term used in real estate or real property law, land held in fee simple, as opposed to leasehold, which is land which is leased. ... A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or land which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called the tenant. ... Fee simple, also known as fee simple absolute or allodial, is a term of art in common law. ...

A devise of ground rent carries not only the rent but the reversion. Where a tenant is compelled, in order to protect himself in the enjoyment of the land in respect of which his rent is payable, to pay ground rent to a superior landlord (who is of course in a position to distrain on him for it), he is considered as having been authorized by his immediate landlord to apply his rent, due or accruing due, in this manner, and the payment of the ground rent will be held to be payment of the rent itself or part of it. A tenant (from the Latin tenere, to hold), in legal contexts, holds real property by some form of title from a landlord. ...

In Scots law, the term ground rent is not employed, but its place is taken, for practical purposes, by the ground-annual, which bears a double meaning. (i.) At the time of the Reformation in Scotland, the lands of the Church were parcelled out by the crown into various lordships, the grantees being called Lords of Erection. In the 17th century these Lords of Erection resigned their superiorities to the crown, with the exception of the feu-duties, which were to be retained till a price agreed upon for their redemption had been paid. This reserved power of redemption was, however, resigned by the crown on the eve of the Union and the feu-duties became payable in perpetuity to the Lords of Erection as a ground-annual. (ii.) Speculators in building ground usually grant sub-feus to builders at a high feu-duty. But where sub-feus are prohibited—as they might be, prior to the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1874—and there is much demand for building ground, the feuars frequently stipulate for an annual rent from the builders rather than for a price payable at once. This annual rent is called a ground-annual. Interest is not due on arrears of ground-annuals. Like other real burdens, ground-annuals may now be freely assigned and conveyed. Scots Law (or Scottish Law) is the Law of Scotland. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country or nation and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ... The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious denomination of Christianity with over one billion members. ... This is a list of British monarchs, that is, the monarchs on the thrones of some of the various kingdoms that have existed on, or incorporated, the island of Great Britain, namely: England (united with Wales from 1536) up to 1707; Scotland up to 1707; The Kingdom of Great Britain... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Acts of Union were twin Acts of Parliament passed in 1707 (taking effect on 26 March) in the Scottish and the English Parliaments. ...

The term ground rent in the English sense does not seem to be generally used in the United States, but is applied in Pennsylvania to a kind of tenure, created by a grant in fee simple, the grantor reserving to himself and his heirs a certain rent, which is the interest of the money value of the land. These ground rents are real estate, and, in cases of intestacy, go to the heir. They are rent services and not rent charges, the statute Quia Emptores never having been in force in Pennsylvania, and are subject to all the incidents of such rents. The grantee of such a ground rent may mortgage, sell, or otherwise dispose of the grant as he pleases; and while the rent is paid the land cannot be sold or the value of the improvements lost. State nickname: The Keystone State Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell Official languages None Area 119,283 km² (33rd)  - Land 116,074 km²  - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... For other uses, see inheritance (disambiguation). ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... Intestacy refers to the body of common law that determines who is entitled to the property of a dead person in the absence of a last will and testament or other binding declaration. ... Introduction A mortgage is a device used to create a lien on real estate by contract. ...

A ground rent being a freehold estate, created by deed and perpetual in duration, no presumption could, at common law, arise from lapse of time, that it had been released. But, by statute (Act of 27th of April 1855, s. 7), a presumption of release or extinguishment is created where no payment, claim or demand has been made for the rent, nor any declaration or acknowledgement of its existence made or given by the owner of the premises subject to it, for the period of 21 years. Ground rents were formerly irredeemable after a certain time. But the creation of irredeemable ground rents is now forbidden (Pennsylvania Act 7 Assembly, 22nd of April 1850). Freehold is a term used in real estate or real property law, land held in fee simple, as opposed to leasehold, which is land which is leased. ... An estate is the right, interest, or nature of interest, a person has in real property. ... A deed is a legal instrument used to grant a privilege. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Ground rents are also found in some portions of Maryland, primarily in the Baltimore area. These are typically 99-year leases, renewable in perpetuity, subject to a semi-annual rent payment. Under Maryland law, the tenant of a residential property has the right to redeeem the ground rent for a one-time payment and obtain full title to the property. State nickname: Old Line State; Free State Other U.S. States Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Official languages English Area 32,160 km² (42nd)  - Land 25,338 km²  - Water 6,968 km² (21%) Population (2000)  - Population 5,296,486 (19th)  - Density 165 /km² (5th) Admittance into... This article is about the city in the US state of Maryland. ... (In the context of property law, title refers to ownership or documents of ownership; see title (property). ...

References

• For English Law see Foa, Landlord and Tenant (3rd ed., London, 1901)
• Scots Law, Bells Principles (10th ed. Edinburgh, 1899)
• American Law, Bouvier, Law Dict. (Boston and London, 1897).

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

• "Mystery of ground rents is solved with a few facts". (August 19, 2001). Baltimore Sun, p. 3L.