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Absentee landlord
An absentee landlord is someone who does not live in his or her property and rents it to another or leaves it vacant. This is a common corporate practice. Some people argue that absentee landlords drain local wealth, especially in rural areas and the third world.
Absentee landlords created a huge problem in the history of Ireland. During the 16th and 17th centuries, most of the land in Ireland was taken from Irish catholic landowners during the Plantations of Ireland. The land was given to British settlers, mostly nobles and soldiers. Some of them rented out the land to Irishmen while they maintained their residents in England. Over the years, there was a lot of resentment toward the absentee landlords, not only because they were Protestant while most tenants were Catholic, but it also meant that the wealth of the land was constantly exported. In the years following the Irish Potato Famine, the land issue with the Irish Land League’s Land War was one of the most significant issues in Ireland. The land issue was one of the contributing factors in Ireland’s troubled history till this day.
Another problem regarding absentee landlords can be seen in Prince Edward Island during its decision to become a part of Canada. In the mid-1760s, the Island was divided into 67 lots. On July 1, 1767, these properties were allotted to supporters of King George III. That means that ownership of the land remained in the hands of English landlords. This raised an issue among setters who were unable to obtain title to the land on which they have worked and lived. These English absentee landlords would significantly charge tenants. Many of these landlords ended up violating the settlement terms. As a result, islanders tried to convince the Crown for decades to confiscate the lots, but the landlords and their descendents had close relationships with the British government and refused to give up the land.
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