BENT (in Law Latin, reddiass, "a return") is a right to the periodical receipt of money or something valuable in respect of lands or tenements held by hint from whom the rent is due. There are three kinds of rent—rent-service, rent-charge, and rent-seek.
There is rent-service when a tenant holds lands of his lord by fealty and certain rent, or by homage, fealty, and certain rent, or by other Bervices and certain rent. Bent-service therefore implies tenure, and it may be due to the lord of the manor of which the lands are held, or to some other chief (that is, immediate) lord of the fee, or to the reversioner. The right of distress is on incident to rent-service in arrear, so long as it is dues to the same person to whom fealty is due. Before the Statute of Quin Ensltores (18 Edw. I.), a person might make " a feollinent in fee simple either by deed or without deed, yield ing to him and his heirs a certain rent, which was a rent-service, and for this he might have distrained of common right ; and if there were no reservation of any rent, nor of any service, yet the feoffee held of the feoffor by the Name service as the [coffer did hold over of his lord next paramount." (Litt., 216.) The Statute of Quia Emptores enacted that the feoffee shall hold of the chief lord by the same services by which the feoffor held, and consequently no rent can now be reserved when a man transfers to another all his estate in land. Iu order that rent-service may now be create], the person to whom the rent is reserved must have a reversion in the lands and tenements out of which the rent is to issue; but any reversion is sufficient. Thus a person who has a term of twenty years may grant it to another, all but one day, and this will leave him a reversion, so that a rent service may be reserved, with its incidenta of fealty and the right of distress. If lie assign all his term, reserving a rent, but without a clause of distress In the assignment, he cannot distrain for the rent.
Itenf-eervice therefore which has been created since the Statute of Quia Emptores can only be reserved to the lessor who retains a rever eion,•ind it will belong to the person who is entitled to the reversion. If a man seised in fee simple makes a lease of lands for years, reserving rent, the rent-service is descendible to his heir with the reversion ; though all rents which accrue due to the lessor before his death will belong to his personal representative's. A rent-service reserved out of chattels real will of course belong to the personal representatives of the lessor. A rent is now most commonly reserved in leasers for years, hut it may be reserved on any conveyance which prowess or enlarges an estate; and it may NJ reserved in the grant of an estate in remainder or reversion, or in a grant of a lease to conluoemce at a future time.
— — - A rent-serviee may be eeparated from the reversion or seignory, by the reversioner granting the rent and retaining the fealty : in this case the lands are still held of the grantor, but the rent is due to the grantee ; not however as rent•service, but as remit-seek (rdditne seers,), so Ladled, " for that no distress' is incident to it." (Litt., 218.) If Cite
seigniory or reversion is ranted, the rent-service will pass by the grant, and the grantee is entitled to receive the rent from the tenant from the time that he gives him notice of the grant, together with all rent that had accrued slue since the grant, and is unpaid at the time of such notice.
Bent-service can only be reserved to the feoffor, donor, or lessor, or to their heir., upon any feoffinent, gift, or lease ; and if the rent is reserved generally, without specifying the persons, it will belong to the lessor, and after his death to those who are entitled to the reversion. Rent Is payable at the times mentioned in the reservation, but not till the last minute of the day on which it is payable.
When rent-service la in arrear, the common-law remedy for the recovery of it is by distress. [llistaess.] By 4 Geo. i I. c. 28, a. 2, every landlord who by the terms of hie lease has a right of re-entry in case of non-payment of rent, may, when half a year's rent is due, and there is no sufficient distress on the premises, serve a declaration in ejectment on his tenant, without any formal re-entry or previous demand of rent, and a recovery in such ejectment is final and con clusive, unless the rent and all costa are paid within six calendar months after the judgment in the action of ejectment has been exe cuted. The action may also be stayed before trial, if the tenant will pay or tender to the lessor, or pay into court, all the rent then in arrear, together with the costs. By the °emitter' law the lessor has also an action of debt for rent against a lessee for years or at will; and by the statute of Ammo (8, c. 14, a. 4) there in also the same action against a lessee for life during the continuance of his estate, which had previously been given for arrears of rent after the determination of the estate (32 Hen. VIII. c. 37). A lessor may also have an action of covenant for rent, either by force of the implication contained in such words as "yielding and paying" rent, or by force of an express cove nant to pay, which is seldom omitted in any lease. if the lessee assign his interest in the term, he and his executors, so far as they hero :meta, are still liable under the covenants to the person entitled to the rover sion. The assignee also becomes bound by such of the covenants as run with the land, and is consequently liable to an action upon them. There is also the remedy by action of aaeumpait or debt for the use and occupation of land, which action lies without any express agree ment for rent (see a remark on this action, 0 A.& E., p. 830).