Real Property LawKen West, LL.M., Course Director

Osgoode-IPTI Expert Evidence Certificate

Osgoode Hall P.D., Toronto

October 31, 2011

The Nature of Property

Two main distinctions:

• Real Property

Land

• Personal Property (Chattels)

Things other than land

Historical Notes

• Civil procedure in the middle ages

Real Actions

› Land or the res

Actions for damages

› Unimportance of chattels in medieval mindset

› No return of property only damages

• Realty vs. Personalty

Permanence of land/fixed and finite commodity

• In rem vs. In personam

In rem, is a right against the world at large

In personam is a right against an individual

Real Property

• Corporeal Hereditaments

Interests being capable of being held in possession

› Essentially freehold status

• Incorporeal Hereditaments

Non-possessory in nature

› Easements

› Profits a prendre

› Restrictive covenants

The Function of ModernProperty Law

• Historical Notes

• Utility in a Modern World

The Institution in Context

• Estates and Tenure

Physical Dimensions of Ownership

• Cujus est Solum ejus est usque ad coelum

et ad infernos

Air Rights

Bay-Adelaide Decision

Subsurface Rights

Riparian Rights

Estates

• Fee Simple

• Encumbrances

• Leases (Landlord and Tenant)

• Licenses

Servitudes• Easements

Incorporeal hereditament

A property interest that allows an individual to use a portion of another s land

Recorded on title Four elements are necessary to create a valid easement

1) There must be a dominant tenement and a servient

tenement 2) The easement must accommodate the dominant land

3) The dominant and servient tenements must be held by

the same person 4) The easement must be capable of being the subject

matter of a grant

• Covenants

• Rights of Way