At the opening of the thirteenth century the tenants of Havering enjoyed many forms of personal, tenurial and legal freedom. They could give their daughters in marriage without the permission of the lord and were not subject to punishment for lapses in the chastity of local women. They could leave the manor temporarily or permanently whenever they wished. They were free to buy, sell, lease or subdivide their land at will. Those who held directly from the crown owed only trivial labour in the royal fields within the manor. Should a dispute arise concerning their land, Havering people could bring legal action either before the king's central court or within their own manorial assembly.

Havering was also accustomed to considerable independence from seigneurial control. The king had no regular agent within the community to look after royal rights and profits. The chief functional officer was the manorial bailiff, a man chosen from among Havering's wealthier tenants who had no reason to place the crown's interests above those of his fellows. Income from the manor, submitted to the crown by the sheriff or the person to whom the king had granted the farm of Havering, was in practice collected by the bailiff. Royal justices occasionally inquired about the crown's personal property within Havering or about assarting from the woodlands. Such commissions were a threat, but at least they were rare. Neglect by the king must have been accepted by Havering's residents in the years around 1200 as traditional and proper.