Estates In Land
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An estate in land is, in the law of England and Wales, an interest in
real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. For a structure (also called an Land i ...
that is or may become
possessory {{dicdef, date=April 2023 In legal usage, Possessory forms several compounds. Conventional meanings :(1) of or pertaining to a possessor; :(2) arising from possession (e.g. possessory interest) or :(3) that is a possessor (e.g. possessory conserv ...
. It is a type of
personal property Personal property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law (legal system), civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—a ...
and encompasses land ownership, rental and other arrangements that give people the right to use land. This is distinct from
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
over the land, which includes the right to government and taxation. This should be distinguished from an " estate" as used in reference to an area of land, and " estate" as used to refer to property in general. In property law, the rights and interests associated with an estate in land may be conceptually understood as a "
bundle of rights The bundle of rights is a metaphor to explain the complexities of property ownership. Law school professors of introductory property law courses frequently use this conceptualization to describe "full" property ownership as a partition of vari ...
" because of the potential for different parties having different interests in the same
real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. For a structure (also called an Land i ...
.


Categories of estates

Estates in
land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...
can be divided into four basic categories: # Freehold estates: rights of conveyable exclusive possession and use, having ''immobility'' and ''indeterminate duration'' #*
fee simple In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., pe ...
#** fee simple absolute—most rights, least limitations, indefeasible #*
defeasible estate {{distinguish, text = the concept of indefeasibility within property law A defeasible estate is created when a grantor transfers land conditionally. Upon the happening of the event or condition stated by the grantor, the transfer may be void or a ...
—voidable possession and use #** fee simple determinable #** fee simple subject to a condition subsequent #** fee simple subject to executory limitation #* finite estate—limited to lifetimes #**
life estate In common law and statutory law, a life estate (or life tenancy) is the ownership of immovable property for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms, it is an estate in real property that ends at death, when the property rights may rever ...
—fragmented possession and use for duration of someone's life #**
fee tail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...
—inalienable rights of inheritance for duration of family line #
Leasehold estate A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a le ...
s: rights of ''possession'' and ''use'' but not ''ownership''. The
lessor Lessor is a participant of the lease who takes possession of the property and provides it as a leasing subject to the lessee for temporary possession. For example, in leasehold estate, the landlord is the lessor and the tenant is the lessee. The le ...
(owner/
landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...
) gives this right to the
lessee A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
( tenant). There are four categories of leasehold estates: ## estate for years (a term of year absolute or tenancy for years)—lease of any length with specific begin and end date ## periodic estate (periodic tenancy)—automatically renewing lease (month to month, week to week) ## estate at will (
tenancy at will A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a lea ...
)—leasehold for no fixed time or period. It lasts as long as both parties desire. Termination is bilateral (either party may terminate at any time) or by operation of law. ## tenancy at sufferance—created when tenant remains after lease expires and becomes a holdover tenant, converts to holdover tenancy upon landlord acceptance. #*Types of
lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
s: #**
gross lease A gross lease is a type of commercial lease where the tenant pays a flat rental amount, and the landlord pays for all operating expenses regularly incurred by the ownership, including taxes, electricity and water. Most apartment leases resemble gro ...
#**
net lease In the field of commercial real estate, especially in the United States, a net lease requires the tenant to pay, in addition to rent, some or all of the property expenses that normally would be paid by the property owner (known as the "landlord" ...
#** percentage lease # Concurrent estates: owned or possessed by two or more individuals simultaneously. ##
tenancy by the entirety In property law, a concurrent estate or co-tenancy is any of various ways in which property is owned by more than one person at a time. If more than one person owns the same property, they are commonly referred to as co-owners. Legal terminolo ...
##
joint tenancy In property law, a concurrent estate or co-tenancy is any of various ways in which property is owned by more than one person at a time. If more than one person owns the same property, they are commonly referred to as co-owners. Legal terminolo ...
##
tenancy in common In property law, a concurrent estate or co-tenancy is any of various ways in which property is owned by more than one person at a time. If more than one person owns the same property, they are commonly referred to as co-owners. Legal terminolo ...
## statutory estates: created by statute: ##*
community property Community property (United States) also called community of property (South Africa) is a marital property regime whereby property acquired during a marriage is considered to be owned by both spouses and subject to division between them in the e ...
##* homestead — protection from claim by creditors ##*
dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...
—interest a wife has in the property of her husband ##*
curtesy Courtesy tenure (or curtesy/courtesy of England) is the legal term denoting the life interest which a widower (i.e. former husband) may claim in the lands of his deceased wife, under certain conditions. The tenure relates only to those lands of ...
—interest a husband has in the property of his wife # Equitable estates: neither ''ownership'' nor ''possession'' #* Future interests — interests in real or personal property, a gift or trust, or other things in which the privilege of possession or of enjoyment is in the future and not the present #** reversions #** possibilities of reverter #** powers of termination, also known as rights of reentry for condition broken #** remainders #** executory interests #* Incorporeal interests — those that cannot be possessed physically, since they consist of rights of a particular user, or the right to enforce an agreement concerning use #**
easement An easement is a Nonpossessory interest in land, nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B" ...
#*** easement in gross #*** easement appurtenant #**** ingress #**** egress #** profits #** real covenants #*** covenant appurtenant #*** covenant in gross #** equitable servitudes #** licenses #* Lien #** general #** specific


References

Real property law {{Law-term-stub