BUILDING LEASES. In the law of England, a building lease is a demise of land for a long term of years, the lessee covenanting to erect certain houses or edifices thereon, accoiding to specification. By the 19 and 20 Vict. c. 120, amended by the 21 and 22 Viet c. 77, and which acts also apply to Ireland, the court of chancery is empowered to authorize leases of settled estates and B. L., which shall take effect in possession within one year next after the making of the same; the term for such building lease being 99 years; or where the court shall be satisfied that it is the usual custom of the district. and beneficial to the inheritance to grant B. L., for longer terms, then for such term as the court shall direct. By a subsequent enactment, it is declared that the term building lease shall include a repairing lease, but such repairing lease to be for a term not exceed ing 60 years.
By the 5 and 6 Vict. c. 108—passed to enable ecclesiastical persons to grant long leases for building, repairs, or other improvements—it is enacted that any ecclesiastical corporations, aggregate or sole, excepting as mentioned in the act, may, with con sent of the ecclesiastical commissioners. for 1:ngland (q.v.)—to which, where the lessor is incumbent of a benefice, the consent of the patron also must be added—demise by deed the corporate lands or houses for any term not exceeding 99 years, to take effect in pos session and not in reversion, to any person willing to improve or repair the same; pro vided that on the grant of such leases, a small rent may be reserved during the six first years, with an increased rent afterwards; but no such lease is to comprise the usual house of residence, its out-buildings, or pleasure grounds. The act contains other regu
lations, and it declares generally that it is made without prejudice to any right that ecclesiastical persons have under the former law to grant or lease, whether by renewal or otherwise.
In the Scotch law, the term building lease is applied to the case of proprietors of entailed estates, who, in order to encourage the building of villages and houses upon property so settled, are to have it in their power to grant leases of land for the purpose of building, for any number of year's not exceeding 99 years. See this matter regulated by the 10 Geo. III. c. 51. By the 3 and 4 Viet.. c. 48, proprietors of entailed estates in Scotland may feu or lease on long leases ground for the building of churches and schools, and for the dwelling-houses and gardens for the ministers and masters of the same, and also for burying-ground and play-ground attached to such churches and schools. See LEASE, LEASEIIOLD, and GROUND-RENT.