Legal Definitions - feuar

A feuar is a term from Scots law that refers to an individual or entity who holds land under a specific, historical form of land ownership known as a "feu." In this arrangement, the feuar received land from a superior (the original grantor) in perpetuity, meaning forever. In return, the feuar was obligated to make an annual payment, known as "feu duty," and sometimes adhere to other conditions or provide services. While the feuar had significant rights over the land, similar to modern ownership, they were still bound by these ongoing obligations to the superior. This system of land tenure was largely abolished in Scotland by the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept of a feuar:

• Imagine a family in 18th-century rural Scotland wishing to build a farmstead. They might approach a local landowner (the superior) and enter into a feu contract. Under this agreement, the family would become the feuars, gaining perpetual rights to the land for their farm. In exchange, they would agree to pay a small annual sum to the landowner and perhaps ensure a specific crop was grown or a road maintained. This demonstrates the feuar as the long-term holder of land with ongoing duties.

• Consider a growing town in 19th-century Scotland where a developer wanted to construct a row of shops. The developer could acquire a large plot of land from a wealthy estate through a feu. The developer would then be the feuar, owning the land and the buildings erected upon it, but with the perpetual obligation to pay a fixed annual feu duty to the estate. This illustrates a feuar as someone acquiring land for commercial development, subject to a perpetual financial commitment.

• Even after the abolition of feudal tenure in Scotland in 2004, the term feuar still applied to property owners whose land titles originated from such contracts. For example, a homeowner in a Scottish city in the late 20th century, whose property was originally granted as a feu centuries ago, would have been considered the feuar of their home. Although the feu duty might have become nominal or even ceased to be collected, the legal framework of their ownership until 2004 was still rooted in this historical system, making them the holder of the feu.