Waste was brought against one and waste was assigned in respect of a chamber because he had allowed it to fall down for lack of roofing and also in certain cottages, certain oak trees and certain ash-trees, certain pear-trees and certain apple-trees cut down and sold.
Newton. As to any waste done except in the chamber, five cottages, ten oak-trees, three pear-trees and four apple-trees, no waste committed, ready etc. (And the others to the contrary). As for the chamber we tell you that it was unroofed at the time of the lease and beforehand and for lack of great timbers was weak and rotten at the time of the lease and after the lease we roofed it as soon as we could and it did not collapse for lack of roofing after the lease. As for one cottage, the great timber was so weak and so rotten at the time of the lease that it could not stand and so it collapsed; judgment whether waste is to be adjudged against them. As to the ten oak-trees we tell you that he leased us a manor together with the things in which he has assigned waste and we cut down the oak-trees to repair certain buildings within the manor and we repaired them with these same oaks. Judgment etc. As to the five ash-trees, they are timber that is cut every ten years and we cut them as housebote and heybote; judgment. As for the pear-trees and apple-trees they were felled by a great wind and then ceased to bear fruit and we took them for fuel and we did not cut them down as you have alleged as we are ready to prove etc.
Cottesmore. As for the chamber, it fell down for lack of roofing after the lease, as we are ready etc.; as for the cottages, the great timber was not rotten at the time of the lease, as we are ready etc.; as for the oak-trees, he has said that he used them for repair of the buildings of the manor but has not specified which.
BABINGTON, C.J. It may be that one was used in one, another in another etc.
Cottesmore. He cut them down for sale and did not put them to the repair of the manor as he claimed, as we are ready etc. As for the ash-trees they were great trees nine years old and suitable as great timber, ready to prove etc.
Newton. They are grown as a crop and we cut them at the proper time for housebote and heybote and they were not large enough to use as timber, ready to prove etc. (But query here as to the form of pleading)
Cottesmore. As to the pear and apple trees he cut them and sold them, as we are ready to prove etc.
So note from this plea that if trees are felled by the wind they belong to the tenant for life and not the reversioner: but query.
Citations:
[1429] [Co. Litt. 53a (e) and Viner 442, no. 17]
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Dayani v London Borough of Bromley TCC 25-Nov-1999
LA Tenant liable for permissive waste
The local authority was tenant of properties which it sub-licensed to homeless persons for three years was liable for having allowed the properties to deteriorate. It was claimed that they were liable for permissive waste as tenants for a fixed . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.196951