Legal Term Dictionary

is the relation of a tenant to the land which he holds. Hence it signifies (1)the estate of a tenant, as in the expressions "Joint tenancy," "tenancy in common;"(2)tbe term or interest of a tenant for years or at will, as when we say that a lessee must remove his More...

is the relation of a tenant to the land which he holds. Hence it signifies (1)the estate of a tenant, as in the expressions "Joint tenancy," "tenancy in common;"(2)tbe term or interest of a tenant for years or at will, as when we say that a lessee must remove his fixtures during his tenancy. Sweet." -General tenancy. A tenancy which is not fixed and made certain in point of duration by the. agreement of the parties. Brown v. Bragg, 22 Ind. 122.-Joint tenancy. An estate in joint tenancy is an estate in fee-simple, fee-tail, for life,- for years, or at will, arising by purchase or grant to two or more persons. Joint tenants have one and the same interest accruing by one and the same conveyance, commencing at one and the same time, and held by one and the same undivided possession. The grand incident of joint tenancy is survivorship, by which the entire tenancy on the decease of any joint tenant remains to the survivors, and at length to the last survivor. Pub. St Mass. 1882, p. 1292; Simons v. McLain, 51 Kan. 153, 32 Pac. 919; Thornburg v. Wiggins, 135 Ihd. 178. 34 N. BL 999, 22 IA R. A. 42. 41 Am. St. Rep. 422; Appeal of Lewis, 85 Mich. 340, 48 N. W. 580. 24 Am. St. Rep. 94; Redemptorist Fathers v. Lawler, 205 Pa. 24, 54 Atl. 487. A joint interest is one owned by several persons in equal shares, by a title created by a single will or transfer, when expressly declared in the will or transfer to be a joint tenancy, or when granted or devised to executors or trustees as joint tenants. Civ. Code Cal. 683.-Several tenancy. A tenancy which is separate, and not held jointly with another person.-Tenancy at sufferance. This is the least and lowest estate which can subsist in realty. It is in strictness not an estate, but a mere possession only. It arises when a person, after his right to the occupation, under a lawful title, is at an end, continues (having no title at all) in possession of the land, without the agreement or disagreement of the person in whom the right of possession resides. 2 Bl. Comm. 150. Less...

In the broadest sense, one who holds or possesses lands or tenements by any kind of right or title, whether in fee, for life, for years, at will, or otherwise. Cowell. In a more restricted sense, one who holds lands of another; one who has the tempo¬rary use and occupation More...

In the broadest sense, one who holds or possesses lands or tenements by any kind of right or title, whether in fee, for life, for years, at will, or otherwise. Cowell. In a more restricted sense, one who holds lands of another; one who has the tempo¬rary use and occupation of real property owned by another person, (called the "land¬lord,") the duration and terms of his ten¬ancy being usually fixed by an instrument called a "lease." See Becker v. Becker, 13 App. Div. 342, 43 N. Y. Supp. 17; Bbwe v. Hunking, 135 Mass. 383, 46 Am. Rep. 471; Cllft White, 12 N. Y. 527; Lightbody v. Truelsen, 39 Minn. 310, 40 N. W. 67; Wool-sey v. State, 30 Tex. App. 347, 17 S. W. 546. The word "tenant" conveys a much more comprehenslve idea In the language of the law than t does' in its popular sense. In popular lan¬guage it is used more particularly as opposed to the word "landlord," and always seems to imply that the land or property is not the tenant's own, but belongs to some other person, of whom he immediately holds it. But, in the language of the law, every possessor of landed property is called a "tenant'' with reference to such prop¬erty, and this, whether such landed property is absolutely his own, or whether he merely holds it under a lease for a certain number of years. Brown. In feudal law. One who holds of an¬other (called "lord" or "superior") by some service; as fealty or rent. One who has actual possession of lands claimed in suit by another; the defendant in a real action. The correlative of "demand¬ant" 3 Bl. Comm. 180. Strictly speaking,, a "tenant*' is a person who holds land; but the term is also applied by analogy to personalty. Thus we speak of a person being tenant for life, or tenant in common, of stock. Sweet. —Joint tenants. Two or more persons to whom are granted lands or tenements to hold in fee-simple, fee-tail, for life, for years, or at will. 2 Bl. Comm. 179. Persons who own lands by a joint title created expressly by one and the same deed or will. 4 Kent, Comm. 357. Joint tenants have one and the same interest, accru-ing by one and the same conveyance, commenc¬ing at one and the same time, and held by one and the same undivided possession. 2 BL Comm. 180.—Quasi tenant at sufferance. An under-tenant, who is in possession at the determination of an original lease, and is per¬mitted by the reversioner to hold over.—Sols tenant. He that holds lands by his own right only, without any other person being joined with him. Cowell.—Tenant a volunte. L. Fr. A tenant at will.—Tenant at sufferance. One that comes into the possession of land by law¬ful title, but holds over by wrong, after the determination of his interest. 4 Kent, Comm. 116; 2 Bl. Comm. 150; Fielder v. Childs, 73 Ala. 577; Pleasants v. Claghorn, 2 Miles (Pa.) 304; Bright v. McOuat, 40 Ind. 525: Garner v. Hannah, 6 Duer (N. Y.) 270; Wright v. Graves, 80 Ala. 418.—Tenant at will "is where lands or tenements are let by one man to another, to have and to hold to him at the will of the lessor, by force of which lease thet lessee is in possession. In this case the lessee is called 'tenant at will,' because he hath no certain nor sure estate, for the lessor may put him out at what time it pleaseth him." Litt. | 68; Sweet. Post v. Post, 14 Barb. (N. Y.) 258; Spalding v. Hall, 6 D. C. 125; Cunningham v. Holton, 55 Me. 36; Willis v. Harrell, 118 Ga. 900, 45 S. E. 794.—Tenant by oopy of oourt roll (shortly, "tenant by copy**} is the old-fashioned name for a copyholder. Litt. | 73.—Tenant by the curtesy. One who, on the death of his wife seised of an estate of inheritance, after having by her issue born alive and capable of Inheriting her estate, holds the lands and tenements for the term of his life. Co. Litt. 30s; > 2 Bl. Comm. 126.—Tenant by the manner. One who has a less estate than a fee in land which remains in the reversioner. He is so call-ed because in avowries and other pleadings it is specially shown in what manner he is tenant of the land, in contradistinction to the veray tenant, who is called simply "tenant" Ham. N. P. 393.—Tenant for life. One who holds lands or tenements for the term of his own life, or for that of any other person, (in which case he is called "purauter i*e.") or for more lives than one. 2 Bl. Comm. 120; In re Hyde, 41 Hun (N. Y.) 75.—Tenant for years. One who has the temporary use and possession of lands or tenements not his own, by virtue of a lease or demise granted to him by the owner, for a determinate period of time, as for a year or a fixed number of years. 2 Bl. Comm. 140. —Tenant from year to year. One who holds lands or tenements under the demise of another, where no certain term has been men-tioned, but an annual rent has been reserved. See 1 Steph. Comm. 271; 4 Kent, Comm. Ill, 114. One who holds over, by consent given ei-ther expressly or constructively, after the determination of a lease for years. 4 Kent, Comm. 112. See Shore v. Porter, 3 Term, 16; Rothschild v. Williamson, 83 Ind. 388; Hunter v. Frost, 47 Minn. 1, 49 N. W. 327; Arbens v. Exley, 52 W. Va. 476, 44 S. E. 149, 61 L. R. A. 957.—Tenant In capite. In feudal and old English law. Tenant in chief; one who held immediately under the king, in right of his crown and dignity. 2 Bl. Comm. 60.—Tenant in common. Tenants in common are generally defined to be such as hold the same land to-gether by several and distinct titles, but by unity of possession, because none knows his own severalty, and therefore they all occupy promisicuously. 2 Bl. Comm. 191. A tenancy in common is where two or more hold the same land, with interests accruing under different titles, or accruing under the same title, but at different periods, or conferred by words of limitation im¬porting that tbe grantees are to take in distinct shares. 1 Steph. Comm. 323. See Coster v. Lorillard, 14 Wend. (N. Y.) 336; Taylor v. Millard, 118 N. Y. 244, 23 N. E. 376, 6 L. R. A. 667; Silloway v. Brown, 12 Allen (Mass.) 36; Gage v. Gage, 66 N. H. 282, 29 Atk. 543, 28 U R. A. 829; Hunter v. State, (50 Ark. 312, 30 S. W. 42.—Tenant in dower. This is where the husband of a woman is seised of an estate of inheritance and dies; in this case the wife shall have the third part of all the lands and tenements whereof he was seised at any time during the coverture, to hold to herself for life, as her dower. Co. Litt. 30; 2 Bl. Comm. 129; Combs v. Young, 4 Yerg. (Tenn.) 225, 26 Am. Dec. 225.—Tenant in fee-simple, (or tenant in fee.) He who has lands, tenements^ or hereditaments, to hold to him and his heirs forever, generally, absolutely, and simply; with¬out mentioning what heirs, but referring that to his own pleasure, or to the disposition of the law. 2 Bl. Comm. 104; Litt. ft 1—Tenant in severalty is he who holds lands and tenements in his own right only, without any other person being joined or connected with him in noint of interest during his estate therein. 2 Bl. Comm. 179.—Tenant in tail. One who holds an estate in fee-tail, that is, an estate which, by the instrument creating it, is limited to some Earticular heirs, exclusive of others; as to the eirs of Aw body or to the heirs, male or female, of his body.—Tenant in tail ex provision* iri. Where an owner of lands, upon or pre¬viously to marrying a wife, settled lands upon himself and his wife, and the heirs of their two bodies begotten, and then died, the wife, as survivor, became tenant in tail of the husband's lands, in consequence of the husband's provision, (es provision* viri.) Originally, she could bar the estate-tail like any other tenant in tail; but the husband's intention having been merely to provide for her during her widowhood, and not to enable* her to bar his children of their inheritance, she was very early restrained from so doing, by the statute 32 Hen. VII. c 36. Brown.—Tenant of the demesne. One woo¬ls tenant of a mesne lord; as, where A. is ten¬ant of B., and C. of A., B. is the lord, A. the mesne lord, and C. tenant of the demesne. Ham. N. P. 392, 393.—Tenant paravaUe. The under-tenant of land; that is, the tenant of a tenant; one who held of a mesne lord.— Tenant to the prseoipe. Before the English fines and recoveries act, if land was conveyed to a person for life with remainder to another in tan, the tenant in tail in remainder was unable to bar the entail without the concurrence of the tenant for life, because a common recovery could only be suffered by the person seised .of the land. In such a case, if the tenant for life wished to concur in barring the entail, he usually con-veyed his life-estate to some other person. In-order that the praecipe in the recovery might be issued against the latter, who was therefore call¬ed the "tenant to the prcrcipe." Williams. Seis. 169; Sweet—Tenants by the verge "are in the same nature as tenants by copy of court roll, [i. e., copyholders.] But the reason why they be called 'tenants by the verge' is for that when they will surrender their tenements into-the hands of their lord to the use of another,, they shall have a little rod (by the custome) in their hand, the which they shall deliver to the steward or to the bailife. * * * and the stew¬ard or bailife, according to the custome, shall deliver to him that taketh the land the same rod, or another rod, in the name of seisin; and for this cause they are called 'tenants by the verge,' but they have no other evidence Ttitie-deed] but by copy of court roll." Litt | 78; Co. Litt. 61a. Less...

1. A kind of customary estate in the north of England, falling under the general class of copyhold, but distinguished from copyhold by many of its incidents. 2.The so-called tenant-right of renewal is the expectation of a lessee that his lease will be renewed, In cases where It is an More...

1. A kind of customary estate in the north of England, falling under the general class of copyhold, but distinguished from copyhold by many of its incidents. 2.The so-called tenant-right of renewal is the expectation of a lessee that his lease will be renewed, In cases where It is an established practice to renew leases from time to time, as in the case of leases from the crown, from ecclesiastical corporations, or other collegiate bodies. Strictly speaking, there can be no right of renewal against the lessor without an express compact by him to that effect, though the existence of the custom often influences the price in sales." 3.The Ulster tenant-right may be described as a right on the tenant's part to sell his holding to the highest bidder, subject to the existing or a reasonable increase of rent from time to time, as circumstances may require, with a reasonable veto reserved to the landlord in respect of the incoming tenant's character and solvency. Mozley A Whitley." Less...

This phrase signifies things which are fixed to the freehold of the demised premises, but which the tenant may detach and take away* provided he does so in season. Wall v. Hinds, 4 Gray (Mass.) 256, 270, 64 Am. Dec. 64.

This phrase signifies things which are fixed to the freehold of the demised premises, but which the tenant may detach and take away* provided he does so in season. Wall v. Hinds, 4 Gray (Mass.) 256, 270, 64 Am. Dec. 64. Less...

Such a repair as will render a house fit for present habitation.

Such a repair as will render a house fit for present habitation. Less...

L. Fr, A dispute; a quarrel. Kelham.

L. Fr, A dispute; a quarrel. Kelham. Less...

In old English law. To tender or offer. Cowell.

In old English law. To tender or offer. Cowell. Less...

Land distributed by a lord among his tenants, as opposed to the demesnes which were occupied by himself and his servants. 2 Bl. Comm. 90.

Land distributed by a lord among his tenants, as opposed to the demesnes which were occupied by himself and his servants. 2 Bl. Comm. 90. Less...

An ancient writ, lying to the city of London, or any other corporation, (where the old custom was that men might devise by will lands and tenements, as well as goods and chattels,) for the hearing and determining any controversy touching the same. Reg. Orig. 244.

An ancient writ, lying to the city of London, or any other corporation, (where the old custom was that men might devise by will lands and tenements, as well as goods and chattels,) for the hearing and determining any controversy touching the same. Reg. Orig. 244. Less...

An offer of money; the act by which one produces and offers to a person holding a claim or demand against him the amount of money which he considers and admits to be due, in satisfaction of such claim or demand, without any stipulation or condition. Salinas v. Ellis, 26 More...

An offer of money; the act by which one produces and offers to a person holding a claim or demand against him the amount of money which he considers and admits to be due, in satisfaction of such claim or demand, without any stipulation or condition. Salinas v. Ellis, 26 S. C. 337, 2 S. E. 121; Tompkins v. Batle, 11 Neb. 147, 7 N. W. 747, 38 Am. Rep. 361; Holmes v. Holmes, 12 Barb. (N. Y.) 144; Smith v. Lewis, 26 Conn. 119; Noyes v. Wyckoff, 114 N. Y. 204, 21 N. E. 158. Tender, in pleading, is a plea by defendant that he has been always ready to pay the debt demanded, and before the commencenient of the action tendered it to the plaintiff, and now brings it into court ready to be paid to him, etc. Brown. -Legal tender. That kind of coin, money, or Circulating medium which the law compels a creditor to accept in payment of his debt, when tendered by the debtor in the right amount.- Tender of amends. An offer by a person who has been guilty of any wrong or breach of contract to pay a sum of money by way of amends. If a defendant in an action make tender of amends, and the plaintiff decline to accept it, the defendant may pay the money into court, and plead the payment into court as a satisfaction of the plaintiff's claim. Mozley ft Whitley.-Tender of Issne. A form of words in a pleading, by which a party offers to refer the question raised upon it to the appropriate mode of decision. The common tender of an issue of fact by a defendant is expressed by the words: "and of this he puts himself upon the country/ Steph. Pi. 54, 230. Less...