Reading the Regency

Property - An Introduction

Yet not all estates were so expensive. In 1818, Lord Keith sold his estate at Purbrooke, Hampshire, for £43,000 after retiring from the Navy.

Renting a House

"I shall let Everingham, and rent a place in this neighbourhood; perhaps Stanwix Lodge. I shall let a seven years' lease of Everingham. I am sure of an excellent tenant at half a word. I could name three people now, who would give me my own terms and thank me."
[Chapter 30, Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen]

People who could not afford to buy a house outright, or only needed a place to live for a short time, would Rent. Others, like Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice, could afford to buy an estate but chose to keep their money in the bank and rent somewhere as a base while they looked around for the perfect estate to buy.

Where a country house was let, it didn't usually include the surrounding estate, which would be maintained by the owner to continue providing an income.

A Lease was an agreement to rent a property for a specific length of time; not to be confused with leasehold, as mentioned above. The owner of the property would let their house and after signing the lease the prospective new resident would rent it.

There was a wide range of properties available to rent, from small cottages and farms, through townhouses and gentlemen's houses, right up to large country estates.

"PLEASANT FURNISHED COTTAGE in Surrey.— to be LET by Messrs Bromley and Short, for the season or longer if required, a convenient and neatly FURNISHED COTTAGE, desirably situate near Richmond, with carriage house, stable, good garden, cow house, poultry house, &c, &c, and a small field, with the use of poultry and cow, may be had if required."
[The Morning Chronicle, 6th June 1814]

Furnished Let - This would have been a property ready to move into, often for a short period. In London, Brighton and Bath, families from the country would hire a townhouse ready furnished for the social season.

Unfurnished Let - This was a house with no furniture, so you could furnish it to your own tastes. Often this would be let for much longer periods, as a main residence, particularly for those who could not afford to buy a house. Farming tenants would have also rented their farms from the landowner unfurnished.

Copyhold - Very rare now, but copyhold property was more common in the 19th century. These were often rented houses or farms that could be occupied by a family for the life of the resident. Depending on how the copyhold was set up, there was an option for children to inherit their father's copyhold and continue renting the property after his death, even though they didn't own the property itself. The house could still be bought and sold, but the tenants had a right to stay in the property.

The cost of renting

"Admiral Croft was a very hale, hearty, well-looking man, ... not likely to make the smallest difficulty about terms, only wanted a comfortable home, and to get into it as soon as possible; knew he must pay for his convenience; knew what rent a ready-furnished house of that consequence might fetch; should not have been surprised if Sir Walter had asked more."
[Chapter 3, Persuasion, by Jane Austen]

Rents varied depending on the type of house, location, desirability and distance from London.

In 1803, you could rent part of a large house, unfurnished, seven miles from Hyde Park Corner. The apartments consisted of a parlour, dining room, drawing room, three or four best bedrooms, servants rooms, separate kitchen, small kitchen garden, coach house and stabling. The rent was 100 guineas for six months.