Quit rent
QUIT RENT. A rent paid by the tenant of the freehold, by which he goes quit
and free; that is, discharged from any other rent. 2 Bl. Com. 42.
2. In England, quit rents were rents reserved to the king or a
proprietor, on an absolute grant of waste land, for which a price in gross
was at first paid, and a mere nominal rent reserved as a feudal
acknowledgment of tenure. Inasmuch as no rent of this description can exist
in the United States, when a quit rent is spoken of, some other interest
must be intended. 5 Call. R. 364. A perpetual rent reserved on a conveyance
in fee simple, is sometimes known by the name of quit rent in Massachusetts.
1 Hill. Ab. 150. See Ground Rent; Rent.