Real Property

Question 1

Concurrent estates

Answer 1

• Ownership or possession of real property by two or more people simultaneously
• Concurrent owners have right to use or possess entire property
• Types: joint tenancy, tenancy in common, tenancy in entirety

Question 2

Joint tenancy

Answer 2

• Tenancy with right of survivorship
• Creation: tenants possess four unities and clear expression of intent with survivorship language

Question 3

What are the four unities?

Answer 3

1. Possession: owners have equal right to possess the whole property
2. Interest: owners have equal shares of interest
3. Time: owners received interests at same time
4. Title: owners received interests in same instrument

Question 4

Right of survivorship

Answer 4

Surviving tenant automatically takes deceased tenant’s interest

Question 5

Tenancy in common

Answer 5

• Co-ownership without right of survivorship
• Conveyance to more than one person presumptively tenancy in common
• Co-tenants may have unequal shares of property
• Any type of tenancy that has been severed becomes tenancy in common

Question 6

What rights do tenants in common have?

Answer 6

• Freely transfer property, including by will and intestate succession
• Possess whole property, regardless of share

Question 7

Tenancy by the entirety

Answer 7

• Joint tenancy between married spouses
• Any conveyance to married couple is presumptively tenancy by the entirety

Question 8

Partition

Answer 8

• Division of interests after severance
• Joint tenants and tenants in common may bring partition action to end co-ownership
• Court divides property into distinct proportions through partition in kind (physical division) or partition by sale

Question 9

What rights to possession do tenants and landlords have in leaseholds?

Answer 9

• Tenant has right to present possession of land
• Landlord has right to future possession of land

Question 10

What are the types of leaseholds?

Answer 10

• Tenancy for years
• Tenancy at will
• Periodic tenancy
• Tenancy at sufferance

Question 11

Tenancy for years

Answer 11

• Tenancy measured by fixed, determined period
• If term is greater than one year, must be in writing
• No notice needed to terminate

Question 12

Periodic tenancy

Answer 12

• Tenancy that continues for successive intervals until properly terminated
• Default tenancy

Question 13

What may a periodic tenancy arise from?

Answer 13

• Implication: lease type is unclear or unstated
• Operation of law: lease agreement is invalid (e.g. tenancy for years