Surrender

To give up, return, or yield.

The word surrender presupposes the possession or ownership of the thing that is to be returned or given up. It indicates a transfer of title as well as possession, but it does not express or in any way suggest the transaction of a sale and delivery. Instead, it involves yielding or delivering in response to a demand. A surrender may be compelled or it may be voluntary.

In landlord-tenant law, surrender occurs when a tenant agrees to return the leased premises to the landlord before the expiration of the lease and the landlord agrees to accept the return of the premises.

In this respect a surrender differs from ABANDONMENT, which is simply a unilateral act on the part of the tenant. In contrast, a surrender arises through a mutual agreement between the lessor and lessee.

Surrender is used in many areas of SUBSTANTIVE LAW. For example, in CRIMINAL LAW it refers to a suspect's giving up to the police. In insurance law the "cash surrender" value is the amount of money a person will receive when he elects to end a policy and take the proceeds allocated under the insurance contract.