Property Law Concepts

A set of vocabulary flashcards derived from lecture notes covering key concepts in property law.

Right in personam

A contractual right enforceable against specific persons, involving obligations to fulfill conditions.

Right in Rem

Proprietary rights that are good against the whole world, related to radical title, and enforceable via injunctions.

Real Property

Includes land, chattels (real), and fixtures; can be corporeal (tangible, e.g., land) or incorporeal (intangible, e.g., easements).

Personal Property

Includes chattels (personal), which can be tangible (chose in possession) like books, or intangible (chose in action) like shares.

Property

Does not refer to a thing but rather to a legal relationship and power recognized in law over that thing.

Bundle of Rights

The concept treating property as a collection of legal rights associated with ownership.

Proprietary Rights

Rights that are enforceable against third parties, unlike contractual rights.

Fixtures

Chattels that have become part of the property by being affixed to land.

Burden of Proof

In determining whether a chattel has become a fixture, it lies on the party disputing the status of the item.

Doctrine of Fixtures

Principle that determines when a chattel becomes a fixture based on its attachment and purpose.

Fee Simple Estate

The highest form of proprietary interest in land, granting indefinite ownership.

Radical Title

The Crown's ownership of all land, which does not equate to absolute beneficial ownership.

Torrens System

Land registry system in Australia that centralizes and digitizes title registration under the Transfer of Land Act.

Equitable Interests

Interests in property that arise when legal formalities are not followed, allowing rights to be held by different parties.

Trusts

Legal arrangements where one party holds legal title for the benefit of another, involving settlor, trustee, and beneficiary.

Ameliorating Waste

Improvements to the land that do not give rise to a remedy, usually requiring consent.

Permissive Waste

Failure to repair or maintain property, where a life tenant is not liable unless explicitly stated.

Voluntary Waste

Acts that harm property without justification; life tenants are generally liable for this.

Contingent Remainder

A future interest that has conditions attached, whereby the interest only vests upon the fulfillment of a specific condition.

Vested Remainder

A future interest that is not subject to any conditions and is guaranteed to take effect.

jus tertii

The right of a third party to claim an interest in property, often used in legal contexts to assert the rights of someone not currently in possession of the property.

Relations to whom the doctrine of fixtures apply:

1. Landlord and tenant (LT)

2. Vendor and purchaser of land (VP)

3. Mortgagor and mortgagee (MM)

4. Life tenants and remaindermen or reversioners (LTR)

5. Devisees and personal representatives (DPR)

6. Assessment of stamp duty on land transfer under state and territory stamp duty legislation (SD)