Legal Definitions - inpenny and outpenny

The terms inpenny and outpenny refer to a historical practice involving small, customary payments made by tenants. An inpenny was a traditional fee, typically a single penny, paid by a tenant upon beginning a new tenancy or rental agreement. Conversely, an outpenny was a similar customary payment made by the tenant when concluding or vacating that tenancy.

These payments were not considered part of the regular rent but rather symbolic or administrative fees associated with the commencement and termination of a rental arrangement, reflecting local customs of the time.

• Example 1: Medieval Agricultural Tenancy

  Imagine a peasant family in 15th-century England seeking to lease a small plot of land and a cottage from the local lord of the manor. Upon reaching an agreement and moving into the property, the head of the household would customarily present a single penny to the lord's steward. This payment would be recognized as the inpenny, marking their formal entry into the tenancy. Years later, if the family decided to move to another village or the tenancy was otherwise concluded, they would make a similar payment of a penny upon their departure, known as the outpenny.

  This example illustrates the inpenny as the customary payment made when a tenant farmer begins their lease of land and property, and the outpenny as the corresponding payment made when they conclude that lease and vacate the premises.

• Example 2: Early Modern Urban Workshop Rental

  Consider a skilled artisan in a bustling 17th-century European town who wished to rent a workshop space within a commercial building. When the artisan successfully negotiated the lease terms and prepared to set up their tools and materials, they would make a traditional payment of one penny to the building's owner or manager. This payment signified their entry into the rental agreement for the workshop and was their inpenny. When the artisan's business evolved, and they decided to move to a larger or different location, they would similarly pay an outpenny as a customary fee upon vacating the workshop space.

  Here, the artisan's payment upon securing the workshop is the inpenny, marking the start of their tenancy, and the payment upon leaving is the outpenny, demonstrating the application of these customary fees to urban commercial rentals at the beginning and end of the agreement.