Emphyteusis

Emphyteusis is a long-term or perpetual real property arrangement granting a lessee, called the emphyteuta, the right to enjoy and improve land, whether through construction or agricultural production, in exchange for maintaining the property, paying its taxes, and paying rent to the owner. The practice originated in ancient Greece and was formalized under the early Roman Empire as a state grant of long-term rights over imperial domains; the tenant held rights resembling those of a proprietor and could transfer them by inheritance or testament and recover possession against third parties, while the original owner retained ultimate title and continued to collect rent. The land reverted to the owner if the tenant died without heirs, if rent or taxes went unpaid for three years, or when a fixed term expired. The arrangement remains in use today in countries including Sri Lanka, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Portugal, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Malta, and Spain, and Rwanda adopted a version of the system in 2013 offering ninety nine year agricultural leases and twenty year residential leases; Scotland also employed emphyteutic arrangements until relatively recently. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/