what he never could reap the profits of." But where the lease for years depends upon an uncertainty; as, upon the death of the lessor, being himself only tenant for life, or being a husband seised in right of his wife; or if the term of years be determinable upon a life or lives: in all these cases, the estate for years not being certainly to expire at a time foreknown, but merely by the act of God, the tenant, or his executors, shall have the emblements in the same manner that a tenant for life or his executors, shall be entitled thereto. Not so, if it determine by the act of the party himself: as if tenant for years does anything that amounts to a forfeiture: in which case the emblements shall go to the lessor, and not to the lessee, who hath determined his estate by his own default, 2. Estates at will. II. The second species of estates not freehold, are estates at will. An estate at will is where lands and tenements are let by one man to another, to have and to hold at the will of the lessor; and the tenant by force of this lease obtains possession. Such tenant hath no certain indefeasible estate, nothing that can be assigned by him to any other; because the lessor may determine his will, and put him out whenever he pleases. But every estate at will is at the will of both parties, landlord and tenant; so that either of them may determine his will, and quit his connections with the other at his own pleasure. Yet this must be understood with some restriction. For, if [146] the tenant at will sows his land, and the landlord, before the corn is ripe, or before it is reaped, puts him out, yet the tenant shall have the emblements, and free ingress, egress, and regress, to cut and carry away the profits. And this for the same reason, upon which all the cases of emblements turn; viz. the point of uncertainty: since the tenant could not possibly know when his landlord would determine his will, and therefore could make no provision against it; and having sown the land, which is for the good of the public, upon a reasonable presumption, the law will not suffer him to be a loser by it. But it is otherwise, and upon reason equally good, where the tenant What act determines a will, himself determines the will; for in this case the landlord shall have the profits of the land. What act does, or does not, amount to a determination tenancy at of the will on either side, has formerly been matter of great debate in our courts. But it is now, I think, settled, that (beside the express determination of the lessor's will, by declaring that the lessee shall hold no longer; which must either be made upon the land, or notice must be given to the lessee") the exertion of any act of ownership by the lessor, as entering upon the premises and cutting timber, taking a distress for rent and impounding it thereon, or making a feoffment, or lease for years of the land to commence immediately; any act of desertion by the lessee, as assigning his estate to another, or committing waste, which is an act inconsistent with such a tenure; or, which is instar omnium, the death or outlawry of either lessor or lessee;" puts an end to or determines the estate at will. The law is however careful, that no sudden determination of the will by one party shall tend to the manifest and unforeseen prejudice of the other. This appears in the case of emblements before mentioned: and, by a [147] parity of reason, the lessee, after the determination of the lessor's will, shall have reasonable ingress and egress to fetch away his goods and utensils. And, if rent be payable quarterly or half-yearly, and the lessee determines the will, the rent shall be paid to the end of the current quarter or half-year. And, upon the same principle, courts of law have of late years leaned as much as possible against construing demises, where no certain term is mentioned, to be tenancies at will; but have rather held them Tenant from to be tenancies from year to year so long as both parties please, especially where an annual rent is reserved in which case they will not suffer either party to determine the tenancy even at the end of the year to year. f Co. Litt. 55. g Ibid. h 1 Ventr. 248. i Co. Litt. 55. k Ibid. 57. 1 Roll. Abr. 860; 2 Lev. 88. year, without reasonable notice to the other, which is generally understood to be six months, and this leaning has gone so far of late, that some have doubted whether an estate at will can ever exist, but it is quite clear that it may be created by the express contract of the parties," although it is also well settled "that what was formerly a tenancy at will by implication shall now be considered a tenancy from year to year, determinable by half a year's notice, expiring at the end of a current year." A tenancy from year to year is therefore an estate for one year certain; and if more than six months elapse without a notice to quit from either party, it becomes an estate for two years at the least. sufferance. III. An estate at sufferance is when one comes into [ 150 ] possession of land by lawful title, and keeps it afterwards 3. Estates by without any title at all. As if a man takes a lease for a year, and, after the year is expired, continues to hold the premises without any fresh lease from the owner of the estate. Or if a man maketh a lease at will and dies, the estate at will is thereby determined; but if the tenant continueth possession, he is tenant at sufferance." But no man can be tenant at sufferance against the king, to whom no laches or neglect, in not entering and ousting the tenant, is contemplated by law; but his tenant so holding over is considered as an absolute intruder." But in the case of a subject this estate may be destroyed whenever the true owner shall make an actual entry on the lands and oust the tenant, or bring an action of ejectment, in which entry is admitted; for, before entry, he cannot maintain an action of trespass against the tenant by sufferance, as he might against a stranger:* and the reason is, because the tenant being once in by a lawful title, the law (which presumes no wrong in any man) will This kind of lease was in use as long ago as the regn of Hen. 8, when half a year's notice seems to have been required to determine it. T. 13 Hen. 8, 15, 16. Richardson v. Langridge, 4 Taunt. 128. Rowlinson, 3 Burr. 1609. Pope v. A portion of the text is here omit- ter. u Co. Litt. 57. w Ibid. landlords for of possession. suppose him to continue upon a title equally lawful; unless the owner of the land by some public and avowed act, such as entry is, will declare his continuance to be tortious, or, in common language, wrongful. [151] Thus stands the law with regard to tenants by sufferRemedies of ance; and landlords are strictly obliged in these cases to the recovery make formal entries upon their lands, and recover possession by the legal process of ejectment: and at the utmost, by the common law, the tenant was bound to account for the profits of the land, so by him detained. But the landlord may enter and take peaceable possession, and the tenant will be liable to an action for any disturbance of that possession; and even if he enter forcibly, the tenant cannot complain, except by a criminal proceeding for a breach of the peace." And now, by statute 4 Geo. II. c. 28, in case any tenant for life or years, or other person claiming under or by collusion with such tenant, shall wilfully hold over, after the determination of the term, and demand made and notice in writing given, by him to whom the remainder or reversion of the premises shall belong, for delivering the possession thereof; such person, so holding over or keeping the other out of possession, shall pay for the time he detains the lands, at the rate of double their yearly value. By statute 11 Geo. II. c. 19, in case any tenant, having power to determine his lease, shall give notice of his intention to quit the premises, and shall not deliver up the possession at the time contained in such notice, he shall thenceforth pay double the former rent, for such time as he continues in possession. And by statute 1 Geo. IV. c. 87, landlords on bringing ejectments, may give notice to tenants holding over, to appear in term, and on production of the lease or agreement, may move for a rule nisi on the tenant to enter into a recognizance for costs; and on the rule being made absolute, if the tenant shall not conform, judgment shall be given for the landlord. And it has been decided that this last statute extends to a tenancy by virtue of an agreement in writing for three months "cer y 5 Mod. 384. 2 Taunton v. Costar, 7 T. R. 131; Turner v. Meymott, 1 Bing. 158. a Doe d. Phillips v. Roe, 5 B. & A. 766. tain but not to a tenancy from year to year, without any written agreement or lease, nor to a tenancy for years determinable on lives, though under a written lease. These statutes have almost put an end to the practice of tenancy by sufferance, unless with the tacit consent of the owner of the tenement. A more summary proceeding still is given by statute 1 and 2 Vict. c. 74, when possession is unlawfully held over after the determination of the tenancy, where there is no rent, or where the rent does not exceed 201. a year. In such cases the landlord may give the tenant or occupier notice of his intention to proceed to recover possession, under the authority of the act, and if the tenant does not appear or fails to show cause why he does not give possession, two justices of the peace acting for the district. may issue a warrant under their hands and seals directing the constables to give the landlord possession. b Doe d. Bradford v. Roe, 5 B. & A. 771. C. 2. Doe d. Pemberton v. Roe, 7 B. & |