Estate in land
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An estate in land is an interest in real property that is or may become possessory.
This should be distinguished from an "estate" as used in reference to an area of land, and "estate" as used to refer to property in general.
In property law, the rights and interests associated with an estate in land may be conceptually understood as a "bundle of rights" because of the potential for different parties having different interests in the same real property.
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Categories of estates
Estates in land can be divided into four basic categories:
- Freehold estates: rights of ownership
- fee simple (fee simple absolute)—most rights, least limitations, indefeasible
- fee tail—inalienable rights of inheritance
- conditional, defeasible, or determinable fee—voidable ownership
- life estate—ownership for duration of someone's life
- Leasehold estates: rights of possession and use but not ownership. The lessor (owner/landlord) gives this right to the lessee (tenant). There are four categories of leasehold estates:
- estate for years (tenancy for years)—lease of any length with specific begin and end date
- periodic estate (periodic tenancy)—automatically renewing lease (month to month, week to week)
- estate at will (tenancy at will)—loose agreement, can be terminated at will
- tenancy at sufferance—created when tenant remains after lease expires and becomes a holdover tenant, converts to holdover tenancy upon landlord acceptance; see Forcible Entry and Detainer Statutes
- Types of leases:
- Statutory estates: created by law
- community property
- homestead
- dower—interest a wife has in the property of her husband
- curtesy—interest a husband has in the property of his wife
- tenancy by entirety
- Equitable Estates: neither ownership nor possession
