The property commonly described as freehold or leasehold ground rents is nothing else than the freehold or leasehold reversion expectant on the determination of a building lease (s); and the purchaser of a freehold or leasehold ground rent described as such is entitled to have conveyed to him such a freehold or leasehold reversion expectant on a lease reserving a ground rent (t) as will enable him to distrain and pursue the other usual lessor's remedies for recovery of the rent (u). The points to be attended to on behalf of the purchaser of such property are, first, to see that he gets the reversion on the lease, so as to be enabled to enforce all the lessor's remedies, whether by distress, action on the lessee's covenants, or re-entry, for non-payment of the rent reserved and breach of the lessee's covenants; and secondly, to ascertain that the vendor has been in actual receipt of the rents, the right to which constitutes the profitable part of the thing sold. Whether the first of these requirements is fulfilled will of course appear from the usual investigation of the documentary title; the second is necessary to ensure that the purchaser is not getting a paper title and nothing more. The title which ought to be abstracted on the purchase under an open contract of a reversion expectant on a lease for years has been already shown (r). If the lease be more than fort}' years old, the title to the reversion, if freehold, must be carried back so as to show that the lease was well granted. If the reversion sold be leasehold, the title should of course commence with the lease, under which the reversion is derived (y). The vendor of a reversion on a lease is under no obligation to deduce the title under the lease so as to prove who is the assignee thereof or person entitled thereunder at the time of sale; it is sufficient if he show that there is a person in possession paying to him the rent reserved on the lease (z). The purchaser should of course inquire who is in possession of the property demised under the lease on which he is purchasing the reversion, and should ask the person so ascertained to be in possession as to the extent of his interest in the property (a), and also whether he has been paying rent to the vendor. If such person be not the actual occupant of the property, inquiry should be made of the occupant as to the nature of his interest in the property, and to whom he pays rent(b). A tenant or occupant is not bound to answer any inquiry to whom he pays his rent (c): but where the inquiry is made in connection with the purchase of the reversion, the information sought is in most cases not likely to be withheld. If it should be refused, it is submitted that the vendor would be bound to furnish some other evidence of his receipt of the rent sold. This is merely equivalent to the duty of a vendor of land in possession to produce land corresponding with that described in the contract for sale (d); and it is obvious that for the purchaser to dispense with such evidence would be to run the risk of the vendor's title having been extinguished by payment of the rent for twelve years or more to some person wrongfully claiming to be entitled to the land in reversion (e).

Purchase of ground rents.

Ground rent.

(r) That is, where the value of the property conveyed does not exceed 500/. and the instrument of conveyance contains a statement certifying that the transaction thereby effected does not form part of a larger transaction or of a series of transactions in respect of which the amount or value, or the aggregate amount or value of the property conveyed exceeds 500/., at the rate of 6d. for every 5l. or fraction thereof up to 25/., 2s. 6d. for every 25/. or fraction thereof up to 300/., and above 300l., 5s. for every 50l. or fraction thereof: and in all other cases at double those rates; see stats. 54 & 55 Vict. c. 39, ss. 1, 14, 54 - 61, and First Schedule; 58 Vint. c. 16, Part II.; 10 Edw. VII. c. 8, s. 73; Wms. Real Prop. p. 615, n. (p), 21st ed.; below, Chap. XII. Sec. 3. Voluntary conveyances made by deed executed before the 29th April, 1910, were subject to a stamp duty of 10s. only; stat. 54 & 55 Vict. c. 39, s. 1, and First Schedule, tit. Deed, replacing 33 & 34 Vict. c. 97, 8. 3, and Schedule.

(s) Maundy v. Maundy, 2 Str. 1020.

(t) Ground rent properly means the rent at which land is let for the purpose of improvement by building. Thus, it conveys the idea of something less than the rack rent, and a purchaser of a ground rent described as such without further explanation will not be compelled to accept a rack rent: Stewart v. Allision, 1 Mer. 26; Bartlett v. Salmon, 6 De G. M. & G. 33, 41; 1 Dart, V. & P. 123, 5th ed.; 138, 6th ed.; 135, 7th ed.

(u) Lecoy v. Mogford, 2 Jur. N. S. 1084: Langfordv. Selmes. 3 K. & J. 220: Evans v. Robins, 8 Jur. N. S. 846; cf. Smith v. Watts, 4 Dr. 338.

Inquiries on purchase of the reversion on a least-.

(x) Above, pp. 97, 101, L02.

(y) Above, p 101.

(c) Flint v. Woodin, 9 Hare.

(its, 621.

If he omit this, he will take with notice of such interest Sunt v. Luck, 1901, 1 Ch. 45, 49: Chap. XII., Sec. 2, below.

(b) If the occupanl should not be paying Pen! to the vendor's tenant, the inquiry should be pursued until all the links of the

Where the reversion in fee simple on a lease for years is sold free from incumbrances as a property to be immediately enjoyed and without any special stipulation as to payment of succession duty, and it turns out that the property will be subject to a liability to pay succession duty on the expiration of the lease (f), the vendor must (if he can) procure the duty to be commuted at his own expense, or the purchaser will be at liberty to reject the title (g); and the purchaser is not obliged to accept the vendor's covenant of indemnity against this liability, however small it may be (h). Whenever it appears, on the investigation of the title to lands let at a ground rent, that succession duty has become payable since the commencement of the lease, the purchaser's advisers should be careful to ascertain whether the Crown's claim has been entirely satisfied or whether the duty payable in respect of the increased value to accrue on the determination of the lease has been left outstanding till then (i). When the reversion on a lease at a ground rent is subject to such a liability and is proposed to be sold, special stipulation must be made, if it be intended that the purchaser shall himself discharge the duty to become payable on the expiration of the lease. The purchaser of the reversion on a lease will of course have to bear any reversion duty which may become payable on the determination of the lease (k); and there is no need for the vendor of such a reversion to make any mention of this liability, which is now a legal incident of such property, like land tax or tithe rentcharge (l).