Emphyteusis (Greek: implanting) is a contract for land that allows the holder the right to the enjoyment of a property, often in perpetuity, on condition of proper care, payment of tax and rent. The right encompasses assignment and of descent.

History

Emphyteusis originated in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

. In the early

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

it was initially granted by the state for the purposes of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

or development. In essence it was a long-term lease of an imperial domain for a rental in kind. The title existing before ''emphyteusis'' was ''ius in agro vectigali''. The ''emphyteusis'' gave the lease-holder (''emphyteuta'') rights similar to those of a proprietor, although the real owner remained the person to whom the rent (''canon'' or ''pensio'') was paid. The tenant gained most of the rights of the owner. Accordingly, he could maintain ''actio vectigalis in rem'' against any one to recover possession of the land thus leased. Under certain circumstances, the land returned to the owner, as in the case of the death of the ''emphyteuta'' intestate, non-payment of the rent or taxes for three years (or two years in case of land held of the Church), lapse of time if a term was fixed in the original agreement, ''contractus emphyteuseos'', which was a specific contract and neither an ordinary lease nor a sale. The rights of the ''emphyteuta'' embraced the full use of the land and its products and were alienable and transferable by testament or ''ab intestato''. ''Emphyteusis'' is still in use in countries such as Sri Lanka, Germany,

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, and

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and, until relatively recently, in

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References

Civil law (legal system) Real property law {{law-stub

History

See also

References