LANDLORD AND TENANT, The contract by which the owner of land or houses, or the party entitled to the exclusive possession thereof, lets or hires this exclusive posses sion to another for a limited time, is generally called a lease, and thereby the relation of landlord and tenant is created. The party letting is called the landlord or lessor, and the party taking the lease is called the lessee or tenant. In order to let a house, the con-, tract need not be in writing, unless the property is let for more than three years; but writing-is always useful, especially if any variation is made from the usual terms. In Scotland a verbal lease is good only for one year. If nothing is said as to details beyond the amount of rent, and the length of time the lease is to last, there are certain rights understood to exist as between landlord and tenant, of which the most important are as follows in England: The tenant has a right to assign or sublet the property, if not other wise agreed, but he still remains bound for the rent, unless the landlord accept the sub tenant in his place. As a general rule, the, tenant is primarily liable to bear all public impositions, whether they be parliamentary taxes or poor-rates, paving, lighting, watch ing, water-rates, highway-rates, county or borough rates, and church-rates. Hence, if the tenant wishes the landlord to pay these, or any of them, he must make some special agreement to that effect, for the only two rates which the landlord is bound to pay, or rather, to repay to the tenant, are the land-tax and property-tax, and the sewers-rate. As. regards repairs, the burden of repairs is, at Common law, thrown on the tenant; and therefore, if the landlord is to repair, he must bind himself by express contract. But the tenant is only bound for ordinary repairs, not for repairs to the fabric itself. He is bound to use the premises in a fair and reasonable manner, and to give them up at the end of the term in much the same condition, making allowance for tear and wear, and the effects of time. Strange to say, the landlord does not impliedly warrant the house to be reasonably fit for habitation, or that it will last during the existence of the lease; and it has been held that a house infested with bugs could not be thrown up by the ten ant merely on that ground. Moreover, if the landlord agree to do repairs, and fail to do them, the tenant is not entitled to quit ou that account, unless there is an express agree ment to that effect. "Where the premises consist of a farm, the tenant is bound to repair the fences; and when a tenant makes great improvements on a farm, he has no claim against the landlord for the value of such improvements, if no express agreement has been made. This state of the law was, however, altered in Ireland in 1870, by the act of 33 and 34 Vict. c. 46. As regards game, the tenant has a right to shoot the game, if he has a game license, unless lie has otherwise specially agreed. The tenant of a farm has no right to the mines of coal or other mineral, unless they are already open, in which case he may take them for his own use. If nothing is specially agreed as to the time of payment of the rent, it is only due at the end of each year, but there is usually an express agree ment to pay quarterly at the end of each quarter. Such quarter-days are Lady-day, Mar. 25; Midsummer-day, June 24; Michaelmas-day, Sept. 29; and Christmas-day, Dec. 25. Rent is sometimes agreed to be paid in advance, but there must be au express agree ment to that effect. In case of fire, if nothing has been expressly agreed, the tenant is bound to go on paying rent as if the house and yet there is no means of compelling the landlord to rebuild the house, and it is not even expressly settled whether in that case the tenant can get quit of his lease by offering to abandon it. A landlord is privileged above all other creditors as to the way in which he recovers his rent, for he need not, like other creditors, go to the expense and delay of bringing an action, but he can make a distress on the premises, i.e., seize at once as much furniture
or goods as he finds there, to pay the rent in arrear; and he can recover six years' rent in this way. And it is immaterial whether the goods so seized belong to the tenant or not, except the goods arc those of a lodger, who has paid his rent. Hence, though the house is sublet to another tenant whose goods are there, or even if the furniture is hired, and though the landlord knew this, yet he may seize it and pay himself; the only excep tion being made in favor of trade, as where the goods have been sent to a tailor or weaver to be made up. This privilege of distress, however, though most valuable to the landlord, is subject to this qualification: it cannot be resorted to till after the rent is due. Hence, if the tenant is bound only to pay his rent at the end of the year, lie may on the last clay remove all his goods and furniture, and so put them beyond the reach of the landlord's distress. It is true he does not get quit of the debt, for the landlord may then sue him, like other creditors, but he has no privilege. On the other band, though the landlord cannot distrain till after the rent is due, still it may happen that, even after rent is due, the tenant may yet manage to clandestinely remove the goods, the rule being, at common law, that if once the goods be taken off the premises, the landlord's security is gone. In such cases, the landlord is entitled by an express statute to follow the goods so fraudulently removed to avoid h distress, provided he do so within thirty days; and he can then seize them, in whose hands soever they may be, and distrain them, as if they were still on his premises. Another qualification of the landlord's right of dis tress is of some importance: he cannot break open the outer-door of the house, or force his way in, though he may use stratagem to get in peaceably, and when once in, he can effect his purpose by seizing a table in the name of other goods, and leaving his broker or bailiff iu possession. It is generally the bailiff or agent of the landlord who makes the distress, but it is the same thing. Hence it often happens that a tenant who is vigilant, and not to be surprised, may for a long time effectually keep his landlord at bay. as far as the power of distress is concerned, for his house is his castle to this extent. Another advantage a landlord has as a creditor is, that if his tenant is indebted to third parties, who obtain judgment against such tenant, and put an execution in the house, i.e., seize, under the authority of the judgment, the tenant's goods, or if the tenant become bankrupt, the landlord is entitled to be first paid out of the proceeds of the fur niture or goods, one year's rent if in arrear; if there is more rent due, then be must take the same remedy its other creditors. The mode of terminating a lease is by the time expiring, or by a notice to quit. In the ordinary tenancies of houses, which arc called tenancies from year to year, the rule is, if nothing is agreed contrary, that either party can put an end to the tenancy by giving a half-year's notice at such a time that the lease will end at the same time of the year as the tenancy commenced. Thus, if the tenant entered on May 1, 1874, then he can give a half-year's notice to quit on May 1, 1875, 1876, or any subsequent year. Sometimes the parties agree that only 'a quarter's notice will suffice, and (hat at any of the usual quarter-days of the year. Sometimes the tenant, after giving or receiving notice, refuses to remove, and holds over; in which case, if the landlord chooses, he may accept him, and thereby the tenancy is renewed from year to year; or lie may insist on the notice, in which case lie requires to bring all action of ejectment to turn the tenant out; and in such cases the landlord is entitled to demand double rent or double value, until he gets back the possession. A lodger has now a bet ter position than a tenant to the party from whom lie hires the lodgings. See Lononcos.