Introduction to Property Law

REAL PROPERTY LAW

READING 1: INTRODUCTION TO PTOPERTY LAW

The following text serves as an introduction to basic concepts and terms used in real property law, many of which have been in use for hundreds of years.

Vocabulary notes

alive	живий
crucial	вирішальний, критичний
descendant	нащадок
distinguish	розрізняти, відрізняти(ся), відзначати(ся)
easement	сервітут (обмеження права користування чужою власністю)
enforceable	який підлягає виконанню
escheat	перехід безгосподарного майна до казни
essentially	по суті
exclusive	винятковий, ексклюзивний
freehold	безумовне право власності на нерухоме майно
grantee	одержувач
grantor	дарувальник
hereditament	нерухомість, яка може передаватись у спадщину
inheritance	успадкування
lease	оренда
leasehold	орендування
mortgage	застава
personal property	рухоме майно
pur autre vie	на час життя іншої особи
real property	нерухоме майно
remaindermen	особа, що очікує свого майбутнього права
reversion	повернення майна попередньому власнику
revert	переходити до попереднього власника (про майно)
tenant	орендар, наймач
tenement	орендоване майно
usufruct	узуфрукт (право користування чужим майном і прибутками від нього)

Exercise 1. Read the text and decide whether these statements are true or false.

1.The term of years of a freehold estate is not fixed.

2. The term reversion refers to the passing of real property to the State when the owner of the property has died and has no legal heirs.

3. A licence grants exclusive possession of a property.

4. The Statute of Frauds permits oral contracts in the case of leases if the duration is more than a certain number of stipulated years.

Introduction to Property Law

English-speaking jurisdictions generally distinguish between real property and personal property. Real property is a general term for land, tenements and hereditaments. On the other hand, personal property refers to everything which does not fall under the heading of real property. This brief summary addresses key terms in relation to real property.

Real property can be divided into freehold estates and leaseholds. Freehold estates are those whose duration is not determined. By contrast, the duration of a leasehold is fixed or capable of being fixed. Essentially, there are four types of freehold estate: the fee simple, the fee tail, the life estate and the estate pur autre vie.

As its name suggests, a fee simple refers to a whole interest in a piece of real property and may pass through sale, inheritance or reversion, i.e. when the owner dies and there are no persons alive who have the right of inheritance, the property reverts to the State. Reversion is also referred to as an escheat. A fee tail is an inheritable estate which lasts as long as the original grantee or any of his descendants live. A life estate is an estate granted only for the life of the grantee. When the life tenant dies, the remaindermen take possession, or the land reverts (see above). An estate pur autre vie is similar to a life estate, except that the estate is granted for the life of someone other than the grantee.

A leasehold is generally created through what is referred to as a lease, which is a contract for exclusive possession, generally for a term of years, usually for a specified rent or compensation. A leasehold should not be confused with a licence. The crucial test for determining whether a lease or a licence has been created is whether there is exclusive possession. If there is no exclusive possession, there is no leasehold. A good example of this is where the property remains in the control of the grantor, such as in the case of a hotel room or dormitory.

Generally speaking, the Statute of Frauds requires that agreements regarding the sale of or interests in land must be in writing to be enforceable. In respect of leases, the Statute of Frauds for a particular jurisdiction will specify that leases for more than a certain number of years must be in writing to be enforceable, e.g. three years in England. For land sales, the Statute of Frauds requires a formal writing.

There are numerous other areas of real property law which commercial lawyers deal with on a day-to-day basis. Real property law includes such things as easements, usufructs, mortgages and other financing measures.

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