Ch 49 Real Property and Landlord-Tenant Relationships Flashcards
What does real property (or realty) consist of?
- Land
- Everything permanently attached to it (including structures and other fixtures)
Give an example of real property.
- Airspace
- Subsurface rights
- Rights to plants and vegetation
Any limitations in either airspace rights or subsurface rights are called what?
Encumbrances
Encumbrances normally must be indicated on what?
The document that transfers title at the time of purchase
A subsurface owner has a right go onto the surface of the land to find and remove minerals. What is this right called?
A profit
True or false.
One can only possess rights in real property.
True
One who possess the entire bundle of rights is said to hold the property in what?
Fee simple (most complete form of ownership)
Traditionally, ownership interests in real property were referred to as estates in land, which include what?
1) Fee simple estates
2) Life estates
3) Leasehold estates
True or false.
In a fee simple absolute, the owner has the greatest aggregation of rights, privileges, and power possible.
True
A person who uses his or her property in a manner that unreasonably interferes with others’ right to use or enjoy their own property can be liable for what tort?
Tort of nuisance
What is a life estate?
A life estate is an estate that lasts for the life of some specified individual.
What creates a life estate?
A conveyance (a transfer of real property, “to A for his life”)
May a life tenant use the land in a manner that would adversely affect its value?
No (has right to use land provided he commits no waste or injury to the land)
Persons who share ownership rights simultaneously in particular property (including real property and personal property) are said to have what?
concurrent ownership
What are the 2 principal types of concurrent ownership?
tenancy in common and joint tenancy
True or false.
Concurrent ownership rights can also be held in a tenancy by the entirety or as community property
True
What does the term tenancy in common refer to?
form of co-ownership in which each of two or more persons owns an undivided interest in the property
On the death of a tenant in common, does that tenant’s interest in the property pass to the other tenants in common?
No; passes to her or his heirs
What does the term joint tenancy refer to?
- form of co-ownership in which each of two or more persons owns an undivided interest in the property
- BUT a deceased joint tenant’s interest passes to surviving joint tenant or tenants
What right distinguishes a joint tenancy from a tenancy in common?
Right of survivorship
A less common form of shared ownership of real property by husband and wife is a tenancy by the what?
Tenancy by the entirety
How does a tenancy by the entirety differ from a joint tenancy?
Neither spouse can separately transfer his/her interest during his/her lifetime unless other spouse consents
When is a leasehold estate created?
When a real property owner or lessor (landlord) agrees to convey the right to possess and use the property to a lessee (tenant) for a certain period of time
True or false.
In every leasehold estate, the tenant has a qualified right to exclusive, though permanent, possession.
False (“temporary”)
With a periodic tenancy, does the lease specify how long it is to last?
No, but does specify that rent is to be paid at certain intervals
Signing a one-year lease to occupy an apartment creates a what?
Tenancy for years (fixed-term tenancy)
What type of tenancy can arise if a landlord rents property to a tenant “for as long as both agree”?
Tenancy at will
What is the mere possession of land without right called?
Tenancy at sufferance
Some interests in land do not include any rights to possess the property. What are these interests known as?
nonpossessory interests (basically interests in real property owned by others)
Nonpossessory interests include what?
1) Easements
2) Profits
3) Licenses
What is an easement?
right of a person to make limited use of another person’s real property without taking anything from the property
What is a profit?
right to go onto land owned by another and take away some part of the land itself or some product of the land
Give an example of an easement.
right to walk across another’s property
True or false.
Easements and profits can be classified as either appurtenant or in gross.
True
What is the land that is benefited by the easement called?
Dominant estate
What is the land that is burdened by the easement called?
Servient estate
What do you call it when the government simply takes private property from a landowner w/o paying any compensation, thereby forcing the landowner to sue the government for compensation?
Inverse condemnation
Are zoning restrictions absolute?
NO
What can a property owner request when he/she wants to use the land in a manner not permitted by zoning rules?
Variance (allows an exception to the rules)
A property owner requesting a variance must demo what three things?
That the requested variance
1) Is necessary for reasonable development
2) Is the least intrusive solution to the problem
3) Will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood
