Glossary

n. an interest, or tenure

Tenure

Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...

, in land where the holder's title deeds were copy of the entries kept by the lord of the manor. It was incrementally abolished from 1841 to 1925.

n. a claim by a land owner to eject a person from the land. The modern term is "eviction

Eviction

How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...

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n. a person who holds land for the benefit of another person. It derives from the old word "fief", which is a right to land (as in fiefdom

Fiefdom

A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...

, dominion over land) and relates now to the modern concept of a "fee simple

Fee simple

In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...

", immediate and indefinite ownership of land.

n. a right arising from a contract

Contract

A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...

 to take the title deeds for a specific asset (usually a house) and give them back when debts are repaid. Typically a bank lends money to a home owner, and if the home owner breaks their repayment agreements, the bank "forecloses" as seeks an order to take possession and sell off the house. In French "mort" means "dead" and "gage" means "pledge", and is so called because the mortgage terminates once the contract is fulfilled. This is one kind of four security interest

Security interest

A security interest is a property interest created by agreement or by operation of law over assets to secure the performance of an obligation, usually the payment of a debt. It gives the beneficiary of the security interest certain preferential rights in the disposition of secured assets...

s, along with a pledge

Pledge

-Promises:* A promise similar to an oath* A promise to donate funds, as in a pledge drive* Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a promise by politicians to oppose tax increases** The Pledge , a similar promise first used in New Hampshire...

, a possessory lien

Lien

In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...

, and an equitable charge.

n. a stream of income that will continue forever. The common law rule against perpetuities

Rule against perpetuities

The common law rule against perpetuities forbids some future interests that may not vest within the time permitted; the rule "limit[s] the testator's power to earmark gifts for remote descendants"...

 in the Duke of Norfolk's case had the purpose of preventing assets being tied up indefinitely, by granting gifts to far off descendants. It said that a gift must become unconditional 21 years after the death of its maker.

n. a right by law for the first born child, usually a son, to inherit the whole estate of the parents, to the exclusion of other siblings.

a 1290 statute that prevented landowners "sub-letting" or "subinfeudinating" their property. They had to sell it, and the buyer had to assume all the taxes and feudal obligations of the seller. The Latin means literally "because of the buyers".

n. an "inferior" mortgage

Mortgage

A mortgage is a security interest in real property held by a lender as a security for a debt, usually a loan of money. A mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is the lender's security for a debt...

, that is created on a property after another mortgage (ie the second or third one). This has to be registered as a "class C" interest under LCA 1972 s 2(4)(i) in unregistered land, and is thus the only legal interest that may fail to bind a third party if not registered.

n. legal possession of a feudal estate. To be "seised" of an estate means having possession of it. The "Assize of novel disseisin

Assize of novel disseisin

In English law, the Assize of novel disseisin was an action to recover lands of which the plaintiff had been disseised, or dispossessed. The action became extremely popular due to its expediency...

" was a tribunal to recover estates that had been taken by someone else (who had "disseised" the claimant) and a "livery of seisin

Livery of seisin

Livery of seisin is an archaic legal conveyancing ceremony, formerly practiced in feudal England and in other countries following English common law, used to convey holdings in property. The term "livery" is related, if not synonymous with, the word "delivery" as used in modern contract law...

" would be a symbolic ceremony to deliver ownership of land from one person to another.

n. a right to stay on land. Someone with a tenure to stay for a certain number or term of years is typically called a "tenant".