Property, Ownership & Land Use

Real property is land plus everything permanently attached to it and the bundle of rights that go with it. Personal property (chattel) is movable and not permanently attached.

Ownership of real property includes a bundle of rights: the rights of possession, control, enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition.

A fixture is personal property that has become real property by being permanently attached. Courts use the M.A.R.I.A. tests: Method of attachment, Adaptability, Relationship of parties, Intention, and Agreement.

Trade fixtures are articles installed by a commercial tenant for use in business. They remain the tenant's personal property and may be removed before the lease ends; failure to remove may make them the landlord's by accession.

Land is the earth's surface, what is below it, and the airspace above. Real estate is land plus permanent man-made improvements. Real property is real estate plus the bundle of legal rights.

Fee simple absolute is the highest, most complete form of ownership. It is freehold, of indefinite duration, and inheritable, subject only to government powers and private restrictions.