peppercorn rent

plural peppercorn rents

1. A nominal rent, originally of a single peppercorn.First known use 16th c.

   Both groups rent space from SWR on a peppercorn rent basis.

   2020 September 23, “Network News: South Western CRPs return to work”, in Rail, page 20

   2 more examples

   Where public libraries are scheduled for closure, their premises and stock should be offered at a peppercorn rent and on a long lease to any subscription library wishing to take them over.

   2016 May, Simon Heffer, Literary Review, page 1

   Autumn turned to winter and then spring. I had to leave the property, as the rent was going up and I couldn’t afford it. But I wanted to remain alone. By a stroke of luck, I was offered a peppercorn rent on a holiday cottage by the sea that I had previously cleaned as a housekeeper.

   2024 March 27, Jade Angeles Fitton, “A moment that changed me: my partner drove off and left me – and in solitude I found my self-confidence”, in The Guardian, →ISSN