The law recognizes different sorts of interests called
estates, in real property. The type of estate is usually determined by the language of the
deed,
lease,
bill of sale,
will,
land grant, etc., through which the estate was acquired. Estates are distinguished by the varying
property rights that vest in each and determine the duration and transferability of the various estates. A party enjoying an estate is called a "tenant". Some important types of
estates in the land include: •
Fee simple: An estate of indefinite duration that can be freely transferred. The most common and perhaps most absolute type of estate, under which the tenant enjoys the greatest discretion over the disposal of the property. • Fee simple conditional: 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 or her heirs. •
Life estate: An estate lasting for the natural life of the grantee, called a "life tenant". 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. • A life estate
per autre vie is held by one person for the natural
life of another person. Such an estate may arise if the original life tenant sells her life estate to another, or if the life estate is originally granted
per autre vie. •
Leasehold: An estate of limited term, 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 estate in the property. 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. Though a leasehold relates to real property, the leasehold interest is historically classified as personal property. A tenant enjoying an undivided estate in some property after the termination of some estate of limited term 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 a lesser maximum term 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. 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. The difference between these two types of joint ownership of an estate in land is basically the inheritability of the estate and the shares of interest that each tenant owns. In a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship deed or JTWROS, the death of one tenant means that the surviving tenants become the sole owners of the estate. Nothing passes to the heirs of the deceased tenant. In some jurisdictions, the specific words "with right of survivorship" must be used, or the tenancy will assume to be tenants in common without rights of survivorship. The co-owners always take a JTWROS deed in equal shares, so each tenant must own an equal share of the property regardless of any contribution to the purchase price. If the property is someday sold or subdivided, the proceeds must be distributed equally with no credits given for any excess that any one co-owner may have contributed to purchase the property. The death of a co-owner of tenants in common (TIC) deed will have a heritable portion of the estate in proportion to his ownership interest which is presumed to be equal among all tenants unless otherwise stated in the
transfer deed. However, if TIC property is sold or subdivided, in some States, Provinces, etc., a credit can be automatically made for unequal contributions to the purchase price (unlike a partition of a JTWROS deed). Real property may be owned jointly with several tenants, through devices such as the
condominium,
housing cooperative, and
building cooperative.
Bundle of rights Property consists of what has been referred to as a "bundle of rights" or a "bundle of sticks." The most important "sticks" in the bundle are: the right to transfer, the right to exclude, the right to use, and the right to destroy.
The right to transfer Also called
alienability, the right to transfer means that the owner may freely transfer or
alienate his property to anyone. The scope of this right may be limited for public policy reasons; who can transfer, what can be transferred, and how property may be transferred may be regulated. For example, an insane person may neither transfer nor obtain real property; certain types of property may not be transferred at all, while some can be given away but not sold; how property is transferred can be regulated to avoid fraud, uncertainty, or other legal problems.
The right to exclude An owner has a right to exclude any other person from his property. This has been described by the U.S. Supreme Court "as one of the most essential sticks" in the bundle. In general, the owner of a tract of land may prevent anyone else from entering upon it. This right is enforced by the tort of
trespass. Some exceptions apply: for example, a farm owner in New Jersey employed several migrant workers who lived on the property during the harvest season. The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the owner was not entitled to exclude social services and legal counsel from entering the property to provide service to the migrant workers residing on the property.
The right to use Historically, a landowner had the absolute right to use his property in any way he wished, as long as he did not harm the rights of others. This concept is embodied in the Latin maxim
sic utere tuo ut alienum non-laedas, which broadly translates to: use your own property in a manner that does not injure another person's property. As a general rule, a landowner is entitled to use their land as they see fit. The scope of this right is limited in some aspects. For example, an owner may not build a "spite fence" that substantially affects the use of the neighbor's land (e.g. a hotel owner built a wall 85 ft (26 metres) long and 18 ft (5.5 metres) high that blocked the windows of a neighboring hotel owner).
The right to destroy It is inevitable that most property will eventually be destroyed. A termite-infested house that has outlived its useful life may be demolished to build a new one. However, the scope of this right can be limited. For example, most jurisdictions may not allow an owner to destroy something of substantial value, like a new mansion. In one case, a homeowner directed the executor of her estate to destroy her historic home after her death. The Missouri court held that it would violate public policy to allow the destruction of the home.
Other ownership types •
Allodial title: Real property that is independent of any superior landlord.
Allodium is "Land held absolutely in one's own right, and not of any lord or superior; land not subject to feudal duties or burdens. An estate held by absolute ownership, without recognizing any superior to whom any duty is due on account thereof." ==Jurisdictional peculiarities==