Property Rights in Land

Abstract

This chapter introduces the origins of land law in the feudal system and the concepts of tenure and estate. It considers freehold, leasehold, and commonhold ownership and explains the beginnings of law and equity and the distinction between law and equity. The chapter also introduces the trust and its development as a way of organizing entitlement to land. Non-ownership rights are explained, and the pre-1925 rules of enforceability of legal and equitable property rights are described in preparation for the next chapter.