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Summary Property and Ownership
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Summary notes on the property law concepts of property and ownership
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Idea of Property and OwnershipReal property:
Traditionally, English law divided property into 'real property' and 'personal property'. These
categories arose because of the different remedies that were historically available in the courts
when different types of property were seized or interferred with by third parties. If a claimant had
been wrongfully deprived of their land they would seek the return of their land - the thing itself. In
Latin, the word for a 'thing' is 'res', so the claim became known as a claim 'in rem' i.e. to get the land
itself back. The remedy became known as a real remedy, and the claim a real action. Where other
types of property were interferred with the remedy was a right against the wrongdoer in person for
money or an 'in personam' claim. The remedy became a personal remedy and the claim a person
action. A real action was only available to a claimant seeking to recover land; only personal actions
were available for the recovery of property other than land. Land therefore became known as real
property (or realty) and all other property as personal property (or personalty).
Ownership:
Our notions of ownership are often rather confused. Sometimes when discussing 'ownership' what
we really mean to describe is 'title' to property, or establishing that someone is entitled to sell the
item or land. In registered land it is easy to show whether or not a seller has title to land and
therefore has the power to sell it, because this is registered by the Land Registry. In unregistered
land possession was used to demonstrate that someone had title to sell land. Possession is not
conclusive, but it provided a good indication of whether or not the possessor had title to the land
that they were selling.
In English law it is possible to 'own' personal property such as a car, book, laptop etc. However, it is
not possible (for historic reasons) to describe someone as an 'owner' of land. Legally, you do not
'own' land instead you own what is known as an 'estate' in the land.
Estates in land:
Following the Norman conquest in 1066, the way in which land could be held or possessed changed.
William the Conqueror decreed that since he had conquered England everything belonged to him as
the King. William I then parcelled out land to his knights in return for their help in securing England
and in governing it following the conquest, in return they promised to obey him and provide him
with soldiers and money. These knights and lords then parcelled out land to their own followers in
exchange for promises from them, and they again parcelled land out to their own followers,
eventually ending up with the peasants at the bottom of the so-called 'feudal pyramid' who actually
farmed the land. With William (and later the Crown) holding title to England, his lords and their
followers held their parcel of land for a time, not forever. If they displeased the Crown or failed to
provide taxes and soliders then their land could be taken from them and reallocated. So, a knight or
lord held what became known as an 'estate' in land or 'land for a time'.
Historically, there were a number of different possible estates in land. Today, following the Law of
Property Act 1925, the most important estates are the two legal estates in land - freehold, and
leasehold. When you buy land today you buy a freehold (i.e. land for an unlimited period of time) or
a leasehold (land for a limited period of time e.g. 99 years).
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