Estates in Land

• Estates are the most important area of land law.
• An estate can be described as an indication as to the period of time a a person is able to 'hold' the land.
• There are two types of estate:

  1. Freehold estate
  2. Leasehold estate
• Freehold estates provide the most substantive rights of ownership in land.
• Freehold estates can be divided into three major types:

  1. The Fee Simple
  2. Life Estates
  3. Fee Tail (very rare)
• Fee Simple

  • Absolute ownership of the land in question.
  • Theoretical application of being able to allow indefinite ownership of the estate.
  • Therefore, owning the fee simples entitles an individual to ownership of the property.
• There are only certain circumstances in which the law recognises the true reality that all land is owned by the Crown:

  • E.g. if an individual dies intestate with no statutory next of kin, the land returns to the Crown as bona vacantia.
• Life Estate

  • Entitles an individual to ownership for the duration of their life.
  • Slightly more limited than the fee simple but still allows the individual ownership for life.
  • Less common than the fee simple.
• Fee Tail

  • An 'estate of inheritance'.
  • Entitles a family ownership as long as there is a continuation of the family lineage.
  • The fee tail will end as soon as the descendants of the original owner die out.
  • Very rare in modern land law.
• Leasehold

  • Gives an individual exclusive possession of the land in question, but only for the duration of the lease.
  • Sometimes described as a 'slice of time'.