Statute of Quia Emptores

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The Statute of Quia Emptores is a 1290 English law that reformed feudal landholding by allowing free alienation of land and effectively halting the creation of new feudal tenures.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf English statute
medieval law
property law reform
appliesTo tenures in fee simple
citedAsPrecedentIn later English property law cases
doesNotApplyTo copyhold tenures
leases for years
effect allowed tenants in fee simple to sell or convey their land without lord’s consent
contributed to the decline of the feudal system in England
effectively halted the creation of new feudal tenures by subinfeudation
froze the existing hierarchy of feudal tenures
helped establish the modern concept of fee simple ownership
permitted free alienation of land by subinfeudated tenants
prevented the creation of new mesne lordships
promoted the marketability of land
required purchasers to hold land directly of the same lord as the seller
strengthened the position of overlords by preventing loss of services through subinfeudation
enactedBy Edward I of England
enactedInYear 1290
geographicScope England
hasAlternativeName Quia Emptores
Quia Emptores Terrarum
historicalContext late 13th-century English legal reforms
reign of Edward I
influenced development of English common law of real property
land law in many common law jurisdictions
jurisdiction Kingdom of England
languageOfTitle Latin
legalDomain feudal law
land law
real property law
longTermImpact contributed to centralization of royal authority over land tenure
facilitated a land market based on alienable estates
reduced fragmentation of feudal obligations
partOf Edward I’s statutory reforms of English law
permitted substitution of tenants by alienation
primaryPurpose to reform feudal landholding
to regulate alienation of land held in fee simple
prohibited subinfeudation of fee simple estates
relatedConcept fee simple
feudal tenure
mesne lord
overlordship
subinfeudation
statusInEnglishLaw historically foundational for rules on alienation of land
temporalScope from 1290 onward in medieval and later English land law
titleMeaning “because the buyers”

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Edward I of England
notableWork

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