FEU AND A feu may be described, in familiar language, as a right to the use and enjoyment of lands, houses, or other heritable subjects, in perpetuity, in con sideration of an annual payment in grain or money, called feu-duty, and certain other contingent burdens called casualities of superiority (see CAS1TALITY). Though a feu was frequently used to express any kind of tenure by which the relation of superior and vas sal was constituted, in its narrower meaning, which we have here indicated, and which is that in which it is now almost exclusively used, it was opposed, on the one hand, to those tenures in which the return consisted of military or other personal service (ward and the like), and, on the other, to those in which the return was illusory (blanch), the only object of which was to preserve the relation of superior and vassal. A feu, in short, was a perpetual lease—a feu-farm. as it was often called—by which the tenant became bound to pay a substantial consideration, and his rights under which he might forfeit, as the penalty of non-payment. In the present day, the disposal of land in feu is practically a sale for a stipulated annual payment, equivalent to chief rent. It is in this light, accordingly, that feus are generally regarded in Scotland; and though fens resemble English freeholds in substance, their forms agree mostly with copyhold tenure. See Paterson's Compendium of English and Scotch Law. The system of 'feuing property for building purposes seems to have several advantages over that of the long building leases common in England. From its perpetual character, it gives to the person actually in possession a feeling of greater interest in the property, and usually leads him to erect more enduring structures than he probably would do under a lease. For as time runs on, the feu often increases in value, while the reverse must always be the case with leasehold property. Neither' does it in any degree interfere with the letting of property on lease or otherwise. Almost all the houses in Edinburgh and the other towns in Scotland which are let, either on leases or from year to year, are held by those who are spoken of as their proprietors not in absolute property, but as feus. Modern feu-duties are in general paid in money. When the stipulation is for a duty in grain, the quantity is valued by liar prices for the year (see Funs), and paid in money accordingly. The deed transferring the land in feu from the superior to the vassal is called a feu-charter —a clumsily conceived and expensive document, which requires renewal in the case of heirs to vassals, or of parties to whom the vassal sells his right; and this repetition of the transaction, designated as " entering with the superior," forms the heavy drawback on the acquisition of land in feu, no matter how small in amount. Usually, the feu
charter reserves to the superior all minerals in the ground, and stipulates that the vassal shall build his house either in a particular style or of a certain value. By the Scottish stat. 1597 c. 246, it is declared that all vassals by feu-farm failing to pay their feu-duty for two years together, shall lose their right, in the same manner as if an irritant clause had been specially engrossed in their charter. But as the superior must obtain a decree declaring the loss of the vassal's right, before the forfeiture can take effect, if the feu is worth keeping, the duties, as a matter of course, will be paid. In the very rare case of the property having fallen off in value to the extent of rendering the feu a positive bur den, it is possible that the irritancy may be voluntarily incurred. For the most part, land proprietors near towns and manufacturing villages are anxious to add to their annual rental by feuing grounds for building purposes. The rate of feu is very various, from as low as £8 to as high as £500 per acre per annum; a common rate is from £20 to £30 per acre. Whatever he the amount, it is payable by the feuar—not the tenant to whom the feuar may have let the property. When a building consists of several floors forming distinct dwellings, the feu-duty is allocated in certain proportions among the respective proprietors; the feuar to whom the lower floor belongs usually paying most. In properties of this kind, each is responsible only for his own share. Occasionally, feu-duties are offered for sale; and as a safe investment, bring from 25 to 30 years' pur chase. In such cases, the vassal has an opportunity of extinguishing his feudal tenure, and becoming the superior. There are also instances of vassals sub-feuing. It is cus tomary in feuing building lands for the superior to make the roads and drains. Relieved of this obligation, and getting possession of a site on a mere prospective annual pay ment of perhaps only a few shillings, the feuar has an undoubted advantage; looking, however, to the cumbersomeness and cost of the feu-charters, and the liability of suc cessors to pay fines at entry, the system is entangled, troublesome, and expensive; and, at least as far as forms are concerned, is allowed to stand in need of reform.