There are four ways that you can acquire property - Renting, Leasing, Buying or Conquering it.

Renting is the cheapest way to get your hands on a home or business - but you have to keep paying the rent each month, if you ever stop paying, you lose your property. The advantage is, that if you want to move to a bigger and better property, it's easy to do so. Better still, the rent is covered by your 'Cost of Living' payments. The amount of rent charged will depend on the size of the property, the size of the settlement, and the area that you rent in. Larger properties cost more, cities are more expensive than towns and some districts are in more demand than others.

You can rent land, a building, or just one room within a building.

Base rent will be calculated by counting the number of 5' squares in the property (over all floors) and multiplying that by the rate shown on the following table. However, prices will vary slightly. If a property is in demand, or desirable for some other reason, it will be more expensive - if it is in poor repair, it might be cheaper.

Copyhold applies to the land, rather than the building on it. For a fee, you get to 'hold' that land, for as long as you pay a small regular payment. The Monthly payment is significantly lower than renting - although that is offset, by the fee you pay for the Copy Hold in the first place.

Copyhold is a contract with the Ruling Lord, normally through his administration, to hold a piece of his land as your own. Importantly, the Copyhold is Heritable (you can pass the Copyhold to an heir when you die) and Saleable (You can sell the Copyhold land), however there is a small fee to transfer the contract, and the new owner must be approved by the administration. There are always clauses saying that the contract will become void if the land is abandoned or the copyholder is convicted of serious crimes. For Misuse of the land the contract can be declared void, by the Ruling Lord, although compensation is generally given in return.

You are responsible for any building on the site. If there is a building there already, you must pay the cost of the building upfront. If it is bare land, you will be expected to construct any buildings that you need. Not using the land, will likely count as 'Misuse' and the Copyhold will be declared void.

The following criteria must be met, before a Copyhold Lease can be Granted, Purchased or Transferred.

• Purchaser/inheritor is in 'Good Standing' with the law. (Not convicted of a major crime, or a habitual criminal)
• Fee is paid
• And one of the following:
  • Heir of deceased Copyholder.
  • Citizen (or higher status)
  • Journeyman of The Guild
  • Sergeant recognised by the state military.

Costs vary significantly, but are based on the footprint of the holding, the number of 5ft squares at ground level. This includes yards, verges and anything else that might reasonably be classed as part of the property.

Initial contract come from The Administration, and the cost varies, according to the location and purpose of the land. If you want land in areas that the administration has marked for development, the fees are very low. If you want land in the best part of the city, fees will be very high. Fees can be reduced (sometimes even waived), as a reward for service to the crown / administration / rulers etc. Cost for purchasing a Copyhold Lease from character (not the administration) will vary according to the sellers status (Needs Money; Likes/Dislikes you; Moving out of town;Cashing in) - but will be similar to the base costs charged by the administration.

Based on the Footprint of the building as defined in the contract.

• Development Area: 1gp per 5' square of the footprint, and a commitment to build an economically viable business inside five years. Somehow, the Copyholder needs to find the money to build the business and to feed themselves until they get the business established. The 'Suitability Criteria' can be relaxed significantly for anyone who demonstrates the grit and ingenuity to succeed. It gets quite a few family owned farms and businesses built.
• In Town: 50x the 'Renting Costs per district' shown above - roughly four years rent. Plus the value of any building on the site.
• **In the Hinterlands*:* In country areas, protected by patrols from the Town Guards. Close to town 50x Renting costs for a Middling District, further out from town, but not in a development area, 25x Renting costs for a Poor District.

Yep!