Legal Definitions - quietus redditus

The term quietus redditus refers to a historical type of payment known as a quit rent.

A quit rent is a fixed, often small, annual payment made by a tenant or landowner to a superior landlord or lord. The primary purpose of this payment was to "quit" or free the payer from performing other feudal services, such as labor, military service, or providing goods, that might otherwise be owed. Essentially, it converted uncertain and potentially burdensome services into a predictable monetary payment, allowing the payer to be "quit" of other obligations related to their landholding.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Historical Manor Estate

  Imagine a farmer in 17th-century England who holds a parcel of land within a large manor. Instead of being obligated to work a certain number of days on the lord's fields, or to give a portion of his harvest, the farmer pays a fixed sum of five shillings to the lord each year. This annual payment is the quietus redditus, or quit rent. By making this payment, the farmer is "quit" of all other service obligations to the lord for his tenancy, gaining more autonomy over his time and labor.

  This example demonstrates the term because the fixed annual payment (five shillings) frees the farmer from other feudal duties (labor or harvest contributions), allowing him to be "quit" of those obligations.

• Example 2: Colonial Land Grant

  In the early days of a British colony, a settler might have been granted a large tract of land by the Crown. As a condition of the grant, the settler was required to pay a nominal annual fee, perhaps one peppercorn or a small amount of currency, to the Crown. This payment functioned as a quietus redditus. It acknowledged the Crown's ultimate ownership while simultaneously freeing the settler from other potential feudal duties or services that might have been imposed on landholders in the mother country, such as military service or providing specific goods.

  This example illustrates the term as the small, fixed annual payment (peppercorn or currency) to the Crown releases the settler from other potential feudal obligations associated with the land grant.

• Example 3: Vestige in Modern Property Deeds

  In some very old residential properties, particularly those with historical ties to large estates or original land grants, a homeowner's deed might still contain a clause requiring a small, fixed annual payment to a successor entity, such as a historical trust or a specific foundation. This payment, often a symbolic amount like a few dollars, does not cover modern services like property taxes, utilities, or homeowners' association fees. Instead, it represents a surviving form of quietus redditus, a historical payment that ensures the homeowner is "quit" of any other ancient, long-forgotten obligations tied to the original land ownership structure.

  This example shows the term in a contemporary context where a small, fixed annual payment, though largely symbolic today, historically served to free the landowner from other potential obligations tied to the property's original grant.