The lords salvaged the situation by persuading the king’s court that when a peasant died, the tenancy should not pass automatically to their heirs on the same terms. In time this led to a system in which lords rented plots of land to agricultural producers at market-determined rates.
In a modern context, this feels the same to a parent passing away. A parent, recognizing their mortallity, attempts to transfer wealth to their children by means of a will. The document itself isn't entirelly legally binding as the housing market - knowing it cannot make more money off an already paid-in-full proprerty - increases the taxes one would need to pay to retain it. In this way, the children cannot pay the taxes and sell (for a lesser price) the property back to the state.
