Re-entry

The act of resuming the possession of lands or tenements in pursuance of a right which the party exercising it reserved to himself when he quit his former possession. Conveyances in fee reserving a groundrent, and leases for a term of years, usually contain a clause authorizing the proprietor to re-enter in case of the non-payment of rent, or of the breach of some covenant in the lease, which forfeits the estate. Without such reservation he would have no right to re-enter for the mere breach of a covenant, although he may do so upon the breach of a condition which, by its terms, is to defeat the estate granted; 2 Bingli. 13; 1 M. & lty. 694; Tayl. Landl. & T. § 290; Woodf. Landl. & T. 310. An estate granted upon condition subsequent is not vested again in the grantor or his heirs for condition broken until after reentry; Edmondson v. Leach, 56 Ga. 461; Star Brewery Co. v. Primas, 163 111. 652, 45 N. E. 145; or if actual entry be impossible, then until the grantor or his heirs lay claim to the property; First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort v. Elliott, 65 S. C. 251, 43 S. E. 674. he must make a specific demand of payment, and be refused, before the forfeiture is complete, unless such demand has been dispensed with by an express agreement of the parties; Mc Cormick v. Connell, 6 S. & R. (Pa.) 151; 7 Term 117; 5 Co. 41. In the latter case, a mere failure to pay, without any demand, constitutes a sufficient breach, upon which an entry may at any time subsequently be made; Van Rensselaer v. Jewett, 2 N. Y. 147; Coon v. Brickett, 2 N. H. 164; 2 B. & C. 490. The demand may be in the form of a notice to quit; Haynes v. Inv. Co., 35 Neb. 766, 53 N. W. 979. The requisites of a demand upon which to predicate a forfeiture for the non-payment of rent, at common law, are very strict. It must be for the payment of the precise sum due upon the day when, by the terms of the lease, it becomes payable; if any days of grace are allowed for payment, then upon the last day of grace; Co. Litt. 203; 7 Term 117; Van Rensselaer v. Jewett, 2 N. Y. }47; see Finkelstein v. Ilerson, 55 N..T. L. 217, 26 Atl. 688; at a convenient time before sunset, while there is light enough to see to count the money; Jackson v. Harrison, 17 Johns. (N. Y.) 66; 1 Saund. 287; at the place appointed for payment, or if no particular place has been specified in the lease, then at the most public place on the land, which, if there be a dwelling-house, is the front door; Rcmsen v. Conklin, 18 Johns. (N. Y.) 450; Connor v. Bradley, 1 How. (U. S.) 211, 11 L. Ed. 105; Co. Litt. 202 a; notwithstanding there be no person on the land to pay it; Bac. Abr. Rent (I); and if the reentry clause is coupled with the condition that no sufficient distress be found upon the premises, the landlord must search the premises to see that no such distress can be found; 15 East 286; Mc Cormick v. Connell. 6 S. & R. (Pa.) 151. A re-entry, at common law, for condition forfeited in a lease, is void unless the evidence shows that the common-law forms have been complied with. A mere taking possession of the premises, when unoccupied, is not sufficient; Prout v. Roby, 15 Wall. (U. S.) 475, 21 L. Ed. 58. But the statutes of most of the states, following 4 Geo. II. e. 28, now dispense with the formalities of a common-law demand, by providing that an action of ejectment may be brought as substitute for such a demand in all cases where no sufficient distress can be found upon the premises. And this latter restriction disappears entirely from the statutes of such of the states as have abolished distress for rent. The clause of re-entry for non-payment of rent operates only as a security for rent; for at any time before judgment is entered in the action to recover possession the tenant may either tender to the landlord, or bring into ment, and all costs and charges incurred by the landlord, and in such case all further proceedings will cease. And in some states, even after the landlord has recovered possession, the tenant may in certain cases be reinstated upon the terms of the original lease, by paying up all arrearages and costs; Tayl. Bandl. & T. 302. See, generally, Wms. R. P. 285. The acceptance by a landlord, after his right of possession is fixed, of property from the tenant in payment of rent that had accrued, is no waiver of his right to enter; Frazier v. Caruthers, 44 111. App. 61; but the acceptance of rent accruing after breach of a condition in a lease, with full knowledge of the breach, is a waiver of the right to declare a forfeiture and re-enter; Brooks v. Rogers, 99 Ala. 433, 12 South. 61. But the courts will not relieve- against a forfeiture which has been wilfully incurred by a tenant who assigns his lease, or neglects to repair or to insure, contrary to his express agreement, or if he exercises a forbidden trade, or cultivates the land in a manner prohibited by the lease; for in all such cases the landlord, if he has reserved a right to reenter, may at once resume his former possession and avoid the lease; 2 Price 206, n.; 9 C. & P. 706; Pollard v. Shaaffer, 1 Dali. (U. S.) 210, 1 B. Ed. 104; 3 V. & B. 29; 12 Ves. 291. Where the landlord is justified in re-entering and taking possession of the premises, the lessee can recover no damages for the loss of the portion of the term, or for injury to the business, but may recover for property destroyed or any unnecessary damage thereto; Bergland v. Frawley, 72 Wis. 559, 40 N. W. 372.