Tenant-right is a term in the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

system expressing the right to compensation which a tenant has, either by custom or by law, against his landlord for improvements at the termination of his tenancy. In

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, it was governed for the most part by the Agricultural Holdings Acts and the Allotments and Small Holdings Acts. The preceding were reformed by the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995. In

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, tenant-right was a custom, prevailing particularly in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, known as the Custom of Ulster, by which the tenant acquired a right not to have his rent raised arbitrarily at the expiration of his term. This resulted in Ulster in considerable fixity of tenure and, in case of a desire on the part of the tenant to sell his

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

, made the tenant-right of considerable capital value, amounting often to many years' rent. The Evesham Custom is one example of a tenant-right custom still in 21st century operation, having been given a specific exemption from the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995.

References

Property law Landlord–tenant law {{law-stub