Property Ownership Glossary

Accretion

The gradual addition of land to a property through the natural deposit of soil by water.

Air Rights

The right to use, control, or occupy the space above a parcel of land, which can be sold or leased separately.

Appurtenance

A right or improvement that belongs to and passes with the land, such as an easement or a water right.

Avulsion

The sudden loss or addition of land caused by a rapid change in a watercourse, such as a flood.

Bundle of Legal Rights

The set of ownership rights attached to real property: possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, and disposition.

Bundle of Rights

The legal rights that come with property ownership: possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, and disposition.

Chattel

An item of personal property that is movable, as opposed to real property.

Chattel Real

A leasehold interest in real property, classified as personal property despite involving real estate.

Community Property

A marital property system in some states where most property acquired during marriage is owned equally by both spouses.

Cooperative (Co-op)

A form of ownership where a resident owns shares in a corporation that holds title to the building, plus a proprietary lease for their unit.

Dominant Tenement

The parcel of land that benefits from an easement over a neighboring property.

Easement

A non-possessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose, such as access or utilities.

Easement Appurtenant

An easement that benefits an adjoining parcel of land and transfers automatically with the dominant estate.

Easement by Necessity

An easement created by law when a landlocked parcel has no other reasonable access to a public road.

Easement by Prescription

An easement acquired through open, continuous, and adverse use of another's land over a statutory period.

Easement in Gross

An easement that benefits a person or company rather than another parcel of land, such as a utility easement.

Emblements

Annual crops produced through a tenant farmer's labor, which the tenant may harvest even after a tenancy ends.

Encroachment

An improvement that illegally intrudes onto a neighboring property, such as a fence built over the boundary line.

Encumbrance

Any claim, lien, or restriction on property that may diminish its value or limit its use.

Fee Simple Absolute

The highest form of ownership, lasting indefinitely with no conditions on transfer or inheritance.

Fee Simple Defeasible

An ownership estate that can be terminated if a specified condition occurs or fails to occur.

Government (Rectangular) Survey System

A legal description method using principal meridians, base lines, townships, and sections to define land.

License (Real Property)

A personal, revocable, non-transferable permission to use another's land, unlike an easement which runs with the land.

Lien

A legal claim against a property as security for a debt, such as a mortgage or unpaid taxes.

Littoral Rights

Ownership rights of a property owner whose land borders a lake, sea, or ocean.

Lot and Block System

A legal description method that references a recorded subdivision plat's lot and block numbers.

Metes and Bounds

A legal description method using distances and directions from a point of beginning to define boundaries.

Mineral Rights

Ownership rights to subsurface minerals, oil, and gas, which can be severed and owned separately from surface rights.

Party Wall

A shared wall on the boundary line between two properties, jointly owned and maintained by both owners.

Remainder Interest

A future ownership interest that takes effect automatically when a life estate ends, held by someone other than the original grantor.

Reversion

A future interest that returns property to the grantor or their heirs after a lesser estate, like a life estate, ends.

Riparian Rights

Ownership rights of a property owner whose land borders a flowing waterway, such as a river or stream.

Servient Tenement

The parcel of land that is burdened by an easement benefiting another property.

Severalty

Ownership of real property by a single person or entity, with no co-owners.

Subjacent Support

The right of a landowner to have their land supported from beneath, relevant when mineral rights are severed.

Tenancy in Common

A form of co-ownership where two or more parties hold undivided, possibly unequal interests with no right of survivorship.

Timeshare

A form of ownership or right to use a property for a specific, recurring period each year.

Trade Fixture

An item a commercial tenant installs to conduct business, which remains personal property removable before the lease ends.

Waste (Property Law)

Harmful or negligent damage to a property committed by a life tenant that injures the interests of future owners.

Study the concepts behind these terms: Property Ownership study guide