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Adverse possession in common law, and the related civil law concept of usucaption (also acquisitive prescription or prescriptive acquisition), are legal mechanisms under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property, usually real property, may acquire legal ownership based on continuous possession or occupation without the permission of its legal owner.
The "first possession" theory of property holds that ownership of something is justified simply by someone seizing it before someone else does. [1] This contrasts with the labor theory of property where something may become property only by applying productive labor to it, i.e. by making something out of the materials of nature.
At common law, property owners held title to all resources located above, below, or upon their land. Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos (Latin for "whoever's is the soil, it is theirs all the way to Heaven and all the way to Hell") [1] is a principle of property law, stating that property holders have rights not only to the plot of land itself, but also the air above and ...
Equitable conversion is a doctrine of the law of real property under which a purchaser of real property becomes the equitable owner of title to the property at the time he/she signs a contract binding him/her to purchase the land at a later date.
Eminent domain also consists of enabling the state to condemn certain real estate construction and development rights for various reasons. One must meet location specific regulatory standards and building codes in order to construct on property. The general rule for stairs (in the US) is 7-11 (a 7-inch rise and 11 inch run).
Once an instrument affecting the title to real estate has been recorded, the law holds that everyone is deemed to know of its existence, even if they have not searched the records in the recorder's office. This is the doctrine of "constructive notice" and it is nearly universal in the various states of the U.S. So, for example, after a deed or ...
A reversion in property law is a future interest that is retained by the grantor after the conveyance of an estate of a lesser quantum than he has (such as the owner of a fee simple granting a life estate or a leasehold estate).
The rule against perpetuities serves a number of purposes. First, English courts have long recognized that allowing owners to attach long-lasting contingencies to their property harms the ability of future generations to freely buy and sell the property, since few people would be willing to buy property that had unresolved issues regarding its ownership hanging over it.