Legal Definitions - ground landlord

Definition: The grantor of an estate on which ground rent is reserved. Ground rent is rent paid by a tenant under a long-term lease for the use of undeveloped land, usually for the construction of a commercial building. It can also refer to a heritable interest, in rental income from land, reserved by a grantor who conveys the land in fee simple. This type of ground rent is found primarily in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Example: A developer leases a piece of land from a ground landlord for 99 years to build a shopping center. The lease agreement includes a provision for the payment of ground rent to the ground landlord. The developer pays the ground rent annually to the ground landlord for the duration of the lease.

Explanation: In this example, the ground landlord is the grantor of the estate on which the shopping center is built. The developer pays ground rent to the ground landlord for the use of the land. This is a common arrangement in commercial real estate, where developers may not have the capital to purchase land outright but can lease it for a long period of time.