The Principal Laws of England, Treatise · Part 28
❧ Of rentes. ❧
FOr asmoch as vpō eueryevery tenure there is commonly reserued one rente or other: therefore I thynke it good sumwhat to treate of rentes. But ye must vnderstande that there be sundry sortes of rentes. There is one kynde of rente whyche is called rent seruice. …n other whiche is called rent charge, and the thyrde which is named in frenche rente secke, that is to saye in latyne redditus siccus, a drye rente. Nowe rent seruice is so called, bycause it is knyt to ye tenure, and is as it were a seruice, wherby a man holdeth his landes or tenemētꝭ, or at lest way when the rente is vnseuerably coupled and knyt wyth the seruice, as for an exemple, where the tenant holdeth his lande of the king or of any other lorde by fealtie and by certaine rente, or by homage, fealtie and certaine rent, or by any other sortes of seruices & by certaine rent, this rent is called rente seruice. And here ye shal note, that if this rent seruice, be at any time when it ought to be payed, behynde and vnpayde, the lorde of whom the land or tenement is so holden, whether it be in fee simple, fe taile, for terme of life for yeres or at wyll, may of common right entre and distraine for the rent, though there be no mencion at all, ne clause of distresse put in the dede or lease. I said before, that y• nature of this rent seruice is to be coupled and knyt to the tenure. For where no tenure is, there can be no rent seruice. And therfore, if at this day I be seised of landes in fee simple, and make a dede of feffement of the same to an other in fe simple, reseruing by the same dede a rente, thys can be called no rente seruice, bicause there can be nowe no tenure betwene the feffoure and the feffee. Otherwise it is of feffementes in fee simple, made before the statute of Westmester the thirde called Quia emptores terrarū. For before the making of y• statute, if a man had made a feoffement in fe simple, reseruynge to him a certayne rent, yea though it had bene wtout dede, here had bene created a new tenure betwene the feffoure and the feffee, and the feffee shuld hauehave holdē of the feffoure, who by vertue of the same myght of common right hauehave distreyned for suche rent. But at this daye, by force of the sayde acte, there can be no suche holdyng or tenure created nor begonne, and consequently no rent seruice can be at this daye reserued vponupon anye gyfte in fee simple, except it be in the kinges case, who being chiefe lord of all euer might and may giuegive landes to be holden of him. Thus ye se, that at this day, no subiect can reserue any rente seruice vntounto him, onles the reuersiō of the landes or tenementes that he shall graunt, be styll in him, as where he grauntethe them in fe… tayle, or maketh but a lease for terme of lyfe or for certayne yeares or ells at wil. For in al these cases the reuersion of the fee simple remayneth styll in hym, and therfore if here be anye rent reserued, it is to be called a rent seruice, and is of common right distreynable, though there be no clause of distresse in the dede of feffemente or lease.
But here ye wyl aske me, when in the case before remembred, a man at this daye gyuethe cleane aweye the lande or tenement from himselfe in fee simple, so that there is no maner of reuersion of the same remaynyng in him at all, and yet neuertheles reserueth vntounto hym by hys dede a certaine rent: what maner rent this shal be called? I answer, if there be in the dede indented any clause of distresse put, that is, that if the rent be behind vnpayed, it shalbe lawful for the feffoure to entre and to distreyne, it is called a rente charge, forasmoche as the lande is charged therwyth, but howe? of common right? no, but only by vertue and force of the wrytynge.
But on the other syde, if there be no suche clause of distresse put in the indenture, thā the rent so reserued shal be called a rent secke.
Likewyse, if a man that is seised of certaine landes, wyll graunte eyther by indēture or by his dede polle that is to saye single and not indented, a yearly rent out of the same landes to an other, whether it be in fe simple, fe tayle, for terme of lyfe, for yeares, or at wyll, wyth clause of distresse, then this rent is called a rente charge and he to whom suche rente is graunted may for defaulte of payment therof, entre and distreine. But contrarely, if the graunte be made wythout any such clause of distresse, it is called rēt secke that is to say a dry rent, bicause he can not come to it in case it be denied, by way of distresse in so moch that if he were neuer seysed of it, he is by the course of the common lawe without remedie. Otherwise it is of a rent charge, for here he to whō the graunt is made, whā the rent is behinde may chose whether he wyll sue a wrytte of annuitie againste the grauntoure, or distreyne for the rent behynde, and reteine the distresse tyll tyme he be paid accordingly. But he cā not hauehave both remedies to gither, but muste take him to the one, for if he ones recouer by a wrytte of annuitie, then is the lande discharged. And if he sewe not his writte of annuitie, but distrayne for the arreragies, and the tenau…te seweth a …epleuin, wherupon y• other auoweth the taking of the distresse in court of recorde: then is the land charged and the person of the grauntour discharged of the action of annuitie. Ye shal also vnderstand, that if a mā wyll, that an other shall hauehave a rent charge cōmyng out of his lande, and yet wyll not that his person shuld be by any meanes charged by wrytte of ānuitie, he may thā hauehave such clause in ye ende of his dede. Prouiso ꝙ praesens scriptum, nec quic quam in eo contē tum ullo pacto se extendat ad onerā dam personam meam per breue seu actionem de annuitate, sed tantū modo ualeat ad onerandum, terras, fū dos, & tenementa mea de annuo redditu praedicto, If thys or suche lyke clause be added, then the land is charged and the person of the grauntour is discharged.
Also if a man wyll make a dede of graunte in this wise, that if Iohn at Style be not yearly payd at the feast of Christms for terme of his life .xx. shillinges sterlyng, that then it shall be lawfull for the sayd Ihō at Style to distreyne for it in the Manoure of Dale: this is a good rent charge, bycause the Manoure is charged with the rent by wey of distresse, and yet neuerthelesse in this case the persone of him that made such dede is discharged of any action of annuitie, forasmoch as he graunted not by his dede any ānuitie to ye sayd Ihon at Style but onelyonly graūted, that he might distreyne for suche yearly rent.
Furthermore ye shall note, that if a man hath a rent charge to him and to his heires cōmyng out of certeyne landes, and doth purchase any parcel of this land to him and to his heires, in thys case the hole rente charge is qwenched and gone, and the annuite also, the cause is this, ye a rent charge can not be in suche case apporcioned. Otherwise it is of a rent service, for if one whiche hath a rent seruice as for exemple, xx d. by yeare doth purchase parcel of the lande out of which this yearly rent of, xx d. is commyng, this shal not extinguish ne drowne y• hole rent, but for that parcell only. For rēt seruice in suche case may very wel be apporcionate and rated according to the value of the lande. Yet there be some sortes of rentes seruices which in no wyse can be apporcioned. As where a tenaunt holdeth his lande of his lorde by the seruice to rēdre to his lorde yearly at suche a feast, an horse, a ring of gold, a redde rose, a gylouer … suche lyke, if in this case the lorde doth purchase parcell of y• land thus of him holden, this seruice is gone, bicause such seruice can not be seuered ne apporcioned. Also escuage is a seruice that may very well be apporcioned accordinge to the afferaunce and rate of the lande.
But where any lande is holden by homage and fealtie, if the lorde purchaseth parcel of the land, yet he shal hauehave hys homage and fealtie styll of his tenaunte.
Ye shall marke also, that if a man maketh a lease of landes to an other for terme of lyfe, reseruing to him certaine rent: if in this case he graūteth the rent to Iohn at Style sauing to himselfe the reuersion of the said lād, thys rente is but rente secke bycause Iohn at Style y• hath the rent, hath nothing in the reuersion of the land. But if he graunteth the reuersion of the lande to Iohn at Noke for terme of lyfe and the tenaunt atturneth accordingly, then hath Iohn at Noke the rente as rente seruice bycause he hath y• reuersion for terme of his life.
Lykewise it is, if a man giueth lā des or tenementes in taile, reseruing to him & to his heires certaine rente, or maketh a lease of ye land for terme of life, reseruinge certayne rent, if he graunteth the reuersion to an other and the tenaunt atturneth accordingly, the hole rent and seruice shal passe by this worde reuersion, bicause the rent and seruice in suche case be incident to the reuersion and do passe by the graunt of the reuersion. But if he had graunted the rent only: the reuersion had not passed.