Old Mother Hubbard

The Mother Hubbard clause is essentially a “cover-all” clause by which small strips of land may be covered by a lease, even if they were not specifically or adequately described within it. It serves to correct minor deficiencies in the description of the leased premises. You can usually identify it by the words “contiguous”, “adjacent to” and/ or “adjoining”. For example: “This lease also covers and includes, in addition to that above described, all land, if any, contiguous or adjacent to or adjoining the land above described…”

The exact language can vary, so you will need to read it carefully in order to determine what is covered. You will also need to be familiar with where the lands explicitly covered by the lease lie. If applicable, you will need to identify the location(s) of any small strips of land owned by the lessor and determine where they lie in comparison to the leased premises. It is possible that the inclusion of a Mother Hubbard clause in a lease may cause a parcel, or a portion of a parcel, that would otherwise be open of record, to be considered as leased.