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| Property law |
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| Part of the common law series |
| Acquisition of property |
| Gift · Adverse possession · Deed |
| Lost, mislaid, or abandoned |
| Treasure trove |
| Alienation · Bailment · License |
| Estates in land |
| Allodial title · Fee simple · Fee tail |
| Life estate · Defeasible estate |
| Future interest · Concurrent estate |
| Leasehold estate · Condominiums |
| Conveyancing of interests in land |
| Bona fide purchaser |
| Torrens title · Strata title |
| Estoppel by deed · Quitclaim deed |
| Mortgage · Equitable conversion |
| Action to quiet title |
| Limiting control over future use |
| Restraint on alienation |
| Rule against perpetuities |
| Rule in Shelley's Case |
| Doctrine of worthier title |
| Nonpossessory interest in land |
| Easement · Profit |
| Covenant running with the land |
| Equitable servitude |
| Related topics |
| Fixtures · Waste · Partition |
| Riparian water rights |
| Lateral and subjacent support |
| Assignment · Nemo dat |
| Other areas of the common law |
| Contract law · Tort law |
| Wills and trusts |
| Criminal Law · Evidence |
In the common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of property, the other class being personal property (personalty). Property law is the area of Law that governs the various forms of Ownership in Real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive A gift, in the Law of Property, has a very specific meaning In order for a Gift to be legally effective the grantor must have intended to give the gift In Common law, adverse possession is the process by which title to another's Real property is acquired without compensation, by as the name A deed is a Legal instrument used to grant a Right. Deeds are part of the broader category of documents under seal. In the Common law of Property, personal belongings that have left the possession of their rightful owners without having directly entered the possession of another person are A treasure trove may broadly be defined as an amount of gold silver gemstones money jewellery or any valuable collection found hidden underground or in places such as cellars Alienation, in Property law, is the capacity for a piece of property or a property right to be sold or otherwise transferred from one party to another Bailment describes a legal relationship in Common law where physical possession of personal Property ( Chattels) is transferred from one person (the The verb license or grant license means to give permission The noun license is the document demonstrating that permission An estate is the Net worth of a person at any point in time It is the sum of a person's Assets - legal rights interests and entitlements to Property of Allodial title is a concept in some systems of property law It describes a situation where Real property ( Land, Buildings and Fixtures) is owned Fee simple is an estate in land in Common law. It is the most common way Real estate is owned in common law countries and is ordinarily the most Fee tail or entail is an obsolete term of art in Common law. It describes an estate of Inheritance in Real property which cannot A life estate is a concept used in Common law and Statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life A defeasible estate is created when a grantor transfers land conditionally In Property law and Real estate, a future interest is a legal right to property ownership that does not include the right to present possession or enjoyment of A concurrent estate or co-tenancy is a concept in Property law, particularly derived from the Common law of Real property, which describes A condominium, or condo, is a form of Housing tenure and other Real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate (usually of an apartment In law conveyancing is the transfer of title of Property from one person to another or the granting of an Encumbrance such as a Mortgage or A bona fide purchaser ( BFP) referred to more completely as a bona fide purchaser for value without notice is a term used in the Law of Real property Torrens title is a system of land title where a register of land holdings maintained by the state guarantees an indefeasible title to those included in the register Strata title is a form of ownership devised for multi-level apartment blocks. Estoppel by Deed - A doctrine where rules of evidence prevent a litigant from denying the truth of what was said or done A quitclaim deed is a term used to describe a document by which a person (the "grantor" disclaims any interest the Grantor may have in a piece of Real property A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a Lender as a security for a Mortgage loan. Equitable conversion is a doctrine of the Law of Real property under which a purchaser of real property becomes the equitable owner of title to the property at the An action to quiet title is a Lawsuit brought in a Court having Jurisdiction over land disputes in order to establish a party's title to Real property In Property law and Real estate, a future interest is a legal right to property ownership that does not include the right to present possession or enjoyment of A restraint on alienation, in the Law of Real property, is a clause used in the conveyance of real property that seeks to prohibit the recipient from selling The rule against perpetuities is a rule of law in effect under the property, Trusts, Estate, and Contract law of many Common law The Rule in Shelley's Case is a rule of law that may apply to certain Future interests in Real property and Trusts created in Common law jurisdictions In the Common law of England, the doctrine of worthier title was a legal doctrine that preferred taking title to Real estate by descent A nonpossessory interest in land is a term of the Law of Property to describe any of a category of rights held by one person to use land that is in the possession For railroad track easement see Track transition curve. An easement is the right or freedom to do something or the right to prevent Profit, but an entirely different meaning of the term analogous to an Easement. A covenant running with the land, is a Real covenant, in the Law of Real property. An equitable servitude is a term used in the Law of Real property to describe a Nonpossessory interest in land that operates much like a Covenant running In the law of real property fixtures are anything that would otherwise be a Chattel that have by reason of incorporation or affixation become permanently attached to Waste is a term used in the Law of Real property to describe a Cause of action that can be brought in Court to address a change in condition A partition is a term used in the Law of Real property to describe an act by a Court order or otherwise to divide up a Concurrent estate into Riparian Water rights (or simply riparian rights) is a system of allocating water among those who possess land about its source Lateral and subjacent support, in the Law of property, describes the right a landowner has to have that land physically supported in its natural state by both adjoining An assignment (Latin cessio) is a term used with similar meanings in the Law of Contracts and in the law of Real estate. Nemo dat quod non habet, literally meaning "no one give what one does not have" is a legal rule sometimes called the nemo dat rule that states that the purchase of A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of Law which governs the management of personal affairs and the Disposition of Property of The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Personal property is a type of Property. In the Common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. Real property generally encompasses land, land improvements resulting from human effort including buildings and machinery sited on land, and various property rights over the preceding. An estate in land is an interest in Real property that is or may become possessory Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual
The concept is variously named and defined in other jurisdictions: heritable property in Scotland, immobilier in France, and immovable property in Canada, United States, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malta, Cyprus, and in countries where civil law systems prevail, including most of Europe, Russia, and South America. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a
Contents |
Estates & ownership interests defined
The law recognizes different sorts of interests, called estates, in real property. An estate in land is an interest in Real property that is or may become possessory The type of estate is generally determined by the language of the deed, lease, or bill of sale through which the estate was acquired. Estates are distinguished by the varying property rights that vest in each, and that determine the duration and transferability of the various estates. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual A party enjoying an estate is called a "tenant. "
Some important types of estates in land include:
- Fee simple: An estate of indefinite duration, that can be freely transferred. An estate in land is an interest in Real property that is or may become possessory Fee simple is an estate in land in Common law. It is the most common way Real estate is owned in common law countries and is ordinarily the most The most common and perhaps most absolute type of estate, under which the tenant enjoys the greatest discretion over the disposition of the property.
- Conditional Fee simple: An estate lasting forever as long as one or more conditions stipulated by the deed's grantor does not occur. If such a condition does occur, the property reverts to the grantor, or a remainder interest is passed on to a third party.
- Fee tail: An estate which, upon the death of the tenant, is transferred to his heirs. Fee tail or entail is an obsolete term of art in Common law. It describes an estate of Inheritance in Real property which cannot
- Life estate: An estate lasting for the natural life of the grantee, called a "life tenant. A life estate is a concept used in Common law and Statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life " If a life estate can be sold, a sale does not change its duration, which is limited by the natural life of the original grantee.
- Leasehold: An estate of limited duration, as set out in a contract, called a lease, between the party granted the leasehold, called the lessee, and another party, called the lessor, having a longer lived estate in the property. Leasehold is a form of property tenure where one party buys the right to occupy land or a building for a given length of time For example, an apartment-dweller with a one year lease has a leasehold estate in her apartment. Lessees typically agree to pay a stated rent to the lessor.
A tenant enjoying an undivided estate in some property after the termination of some estate of limited duration, is said to have a "future interest. " Two important types of future interests are:
- Reversion: A reversion arises when a tenant grants an estate of lesser maximum duration than his own. Ownership of the land returns to the original tenant when the grantee's estate expires. The original tenant's future interest is a reversion.
- Remainder: A remainder arises when a tenant with a fee simple grants someone a life estate or conditional fee simple, and specifies a third party to whom the land goes when the life estate ends or the condition occurs. A remainder in Property Law is a Future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferree or Remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory The third party is said to have a remainder. The third party may have a legal right to limit the life tenant's use of the land.
Estates may be held jointly as joint tenants with rights of survivorship or as tenants in common. An estate is the Net worth of a person at any point in time It is the sum of a person's Assets - legal rights interests and entitlements to Property of A concurrent estate or co-tenancy is a concept in Property law, particularly derived from the Common law of Real property, which describes A concurrent estate or co-tenancy is a concept in Property law, particularly derived from the Common law of Real property, which describes The difference in these two types of joint ownership of an estate in land is basically the inheritability of the estate. In joint tenancy (sometimes called tenancy of the entirety when the tenants are married to each other) the surviving tenant (or tenants) become the sole owner (or owners) of the estate. Nothing passes to the heirs of the deceased tenant. In some jurisdictions the magic words "with right of survivorship" must be used or the tenancy will assumed to be tenants in common. Tenants in common will have a heritable portion of the estate in proportion to their ownership interest which is presumed to be equal amongst tenants unless otherwise stated in the transfer deed.
Real property may be owned jointly with several tenants, through devices such as the condominium, housing cooperative, and building cooperative. A condominium, or condo, is a form of Housing tenure and other Real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate (usually of an apartment A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a Corporation —that owns Real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings Building co-operatives are Co-operative Housing corporations where Individuals or Families work together to directly Construct their
Jurisdictional peculiarities
In the law of almost every country, the state is the ultimate owner of all land under its jurisdiction, because it is the sovereign, or supreme lawmaking authority. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Physical and corporate persons do not have allodial title; they do not "own" land but only enjoy estates in the land, also known as "equitable interests. Allodial title is a concept in some systems of property law It describes a situation where Real property ( Land, Buildings and Fixtures) is owned "
England and Wales
In the United Kingdom, the sovereign is held to be the ultimate owner of all real property in the realm. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Throughout the Commonwealth realms The Crown is an abstract metonymic concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government This fact is material one when, for example, property has been disclaimed by its erstwhile owner, in which case the law of escheat applies. Escheat is a Common law doctrine that operates to ensure that property is not left in limbo and ownerless In some other jurisdictions (not including the United States), real property is held absolutely. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Allodial title is a concept in some systems of property law It describes a situation where Real property ( Land, Buildings and Fixtures) is owned
English law has retained the common law distinction between real property and personal property, whereas the civil law distinguishes between "movable" and "immovable" property. English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the In English law, real property is not confined to the ownership of property and the buildings sited thereon — often referred to as "land. " Real property also includes many legal relationships between individuals or owners of land that are purely conceptual. One such relationship is the easement, where the owner of one property may enjoy the right to pass over a neighboring property. For railroad track easement see Track transition curve. An easement is the right or freedom to do something or the right to prevent Another is the various "incorporeal hereditaments," such as profits a prendre, where an individual may have the right to take crops from land that is part of another's estate. Profit, but an entirely different meaning of the term analogous to an Easement.
English law retains a number of forms of property which are largely unknown in other common law jurisdictions such as the advowson, chancel repair liability and lordships of the manor. For the process for appointing a parish priest in the Church of England see Parish. Chancel repair liability is a liability on some property owners England and Wales to fund repairs to the Chancel of their local Church These are all classified as real property, as they would have been protected by real actions in the early common law.
USA
Each U.S. State except Louisiana has its own laws governing real property and the estates therein, grounded in the common law. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive
Louisiana
Economic aspects of real property
Land use, land valuation, and the determination of the incomes of landowners, are among the oldest questions in economic theory. Land is an essential input (factor of production) for agriculture, and agriculture is by far the most important economic activity in preindustrial societies. In economic theory factors of production (or productive inputs) are the resources employed to produce goods and services With the advent of industrialization, important new uses for land emerge, as sites for factories, warehouses, offices, and urban agglomerations. Also, the value of real property taking the form of man-made structures and machinery increases relative to the value of land alone. The concept of real property eventually comes to encompass effectively all forms of tangible fixed capital. In Economics, capital or capital Goods or real capital refers to items of extensive value with the rise of extractive industries, real property comes to encompass natural capital. Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital (manufactured means of production to environmental goods and services With the rise of tourism and leisure, real property comes to include scenic and other amenity values.
Starting in the 1960s, as part of the emerging field of law and economics, economists and legal scholars began to study the property rights enjoyed by tenants under the various estates, and the economic benefits and costs of the various estates. Law and Economics, or economic analysis of law is an approach to Legal theory that applies methods of Economics to law Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual This resulted in a much improved understanding of the:
- Property rights enjoyed by tenants under the various estates. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual These include the right to:
- Decide how a piece of real property is used;
- Exclude others from enjoying the property;
- Transfer (alienate) some or all of these rights to others on mutually agreeable terms;
- Nature and consequences of transaction costs when changing and transferring estates. In Economics and related disciplines a transaction cost is a Cost incurred in making an economic exchange
For an introduction to the economic analysis of property law, see Shavell (2004), and Cooter and Ulen (2003). For a collection of related scholarly articles, see Epstein (2007). Ellickson (1993) broadens the economic analysis of real property with a variety of facts drawn from history and ethnography. Ethnography ( Greek ethnos = people and graphein = writing is a genre of writing that uses Fieldwork to provide a descriptive
Historical background
In common law, real property was property that could be protected by some form of real action, in contrast to personal property, where a plaintiff would have to resort to another form of action. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a Lawsuit As a result of this formalist approach, some things the common law deems to be land would not be classified as such by most modern legal systems, for example an advowson (the right to present to the living of a church) was real property. For the process for appointing a parish priest in the Church of England see Parish. By contrast the rights of a leaseholder originate in personal actions and so the common law originally treated a leasehold as part of personal property. Leasehold is a form of property tenure where one party buys the right to occupy land or a building for a given length of time
The law now broadly distinguishes between real property (land and anything affixed to it) and personal property (everything else, e. Personal property is a type of Property. In the Common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. g. , clothing, furniture, money). The conceptual difference was between immovable property, which would transfer title along with the land, and movable property, which a person would retain title to. (The word is not derived from the notion of land having historically been "royal" property. The word royal — and its Spanish cognate real — come from the unrelated Latin word rex, meaning king. )
In modern legal systems derived from English common law, classification of property as real or personal may vary somewhat according to jurisdiction or, even within jurisdictions, according to purpose, as in defining whether and how the property may be taxed.
Bethell (1998) contains much historical information on the historical evolution of real property and property rights.
See also
Footnotes
References and further reading
The law of real property:
- Stoebuck, W. An estate in land is an interest in Real property that is or may become possessory Law and Economics, or economic analysis of law is an approach to Legal theory that applies methods of Economics to law Property law is the area of Law that governs the various forms of Ownership in Real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom B. , and Dale A. Whitman, 2000. The Law of Property, 3rd. ed. St. Paul MN: West Group Publishing.
- Thomas, David A. , ed. , 1996. Thompson on Real Property. Charlottesville VA: Michie Co.
Analysis of the law of real property:
- Ackerman, B., R. Bruce Arnold Ackerman (born August 19, 1943) is an American Constitutional law scholar Ellickson, and C. M. Rose, 2002. Perspectives on Property Law, 3rd ed. Aspen Law and Business.
- Tom Bethell, 1998. Tom Bethell (born 1936 is a Journalist who writes mainly on Economic and scientific issues and is known for his support of the Market economy, political Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity through the Ages. St Martin's Press. For lay people.
- Robert Cooter, and Thomas Ulen, 2003. Robert D Cooter, a pioneer in the field of Law and Economics, began teaching in the Department of Economics at UC Berkeley in 1975 and joined the Law and Economics, 4th. ed. Addison-Wesley. Chpts. 4,5. Easier text.
- Ellickson, Robert, 1993, "Property in Land," Yale Law Review 102: 1315-1400.
- Richard Epstein, ed. This article is about Richard Epstein the professor of law for the American game theorist see Richard A , 2007, Economics of Property Law. Edward Elgar. An anthology of articles, mostly from the law literature.
- Shavell, Steven, 2004. Foundations of Economic Analysis of Law. Harvard Univ. Press. Chpts. 2-5. Harder text; extensive references.
- Jeremy Waldron, 1988. Jeremy Waldron (born October 13 1953 New Zealand) is a professor of law and philosophy at the New York University School of Law. The Right to Private Property. Oxford Univ. Press.
External links
Dictionary
real property
-noun
- (law): property in the form of land as opposed to personal possessions; real estate
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