Real Property vs. Personal Property

Home > Law > Property Law > Real Property vs. Personal Property

The distinction between real property and personal property, and the legal ramifications of each.

Definition of Real Property: Real property refers to land and anything attached to it, including fixed structures like buildings or trees.
Definition of Personal Property: Personal property refers to any property that is movable, such as furniture, vehicles, jewelry, and other tangible items.
Types of Real Property: Real property is divided into different types, such as residential property, commercial property, industrial property, farmland, and so on.
Types of Personal Property: Personal property can also be categorized into specific types, such as goods, fixtures, chattels, intellectual property, and more.
Ownership of Real Property: In property law, the concept of ownership of real property is complex, and involves various legal concepts such as title, deed, zoning, taxes, and more.
Ownership of Personal Property: Ownership of personal property differs from real property. It usually involves possession rather than legal title, and ownership is often subject to various restrictions.
Transfer of Real Property: Real property can be transferred by several means, including sale, lease, inheritance, and more.
Transfer of Personal Property: Transfer of ownership of personal property is also possible through various ways such as gifts, sale, or inheritance.
Protection of Real Property: Real property is protected by various laws, such as property rights, zoning regulations, and environmental laws.
Protection of Personal Property: Legal protection for personal property is also available through various laws and regulations, such as warranty laws and consumer protections.
Disputes over Real Property: Real property disputes often arise over issues such as property boundaries, easements, liens, and more.
Disputes over Personal Property: Disputes over personal property might concern product defects, warranties, contracts, and more.
Real Estate Contracts: Real estate contracts are binding agreements that establishing the terms and conditions of a real property transaction.
Contracts involving Personal Property: Contracts for personal property transactions are also essential in defining the terms and conditions of a sale, purchase or leasing agreement.
Real Property Financing: The real property transaction also requires financing, which includes a mortgage loan or property loan.
Personal Property Financing: Financing of personal property includes various means such as installment loans, auto loans, leasing and more.
Land: Refers to the surface of the earth that is divided into parcels or plots.
Buildings: Refers to any constructed structure on the land, such as houses, commercial buildings, or other types of structures.
Improvements: Refers to any permanent additions made to the land or buildings, such as a swimming pool, fences, or landscaping.
Natural Resources: Refers to minerals, oil, gas, and other materials that are buried or located beneath the surface.
Airspace: Refers to the area above the surface of the land that can be owned, sold, or leased.
Water Rights: Refers to the legal right to use the water of a river, lake, or other body of water.
Easements: Refers to the right to use someone else's land for a specific purpose, such as access to a public road.
Tangible Personal Property: Refers to physical items that can be touched, such as furniture, vehicles, and jewelry.
Intangible Personal Property: Refers to non-physical items that have value, such as patents, copyrights, and stocks and bonds.
Fixtures: Refers to items that were once personal property but are now considered part of the real property, such as light fixtures, plumbing, and built-in appliances.
Intellectual Property: Refers to intangible personal property that is the result of original creative work, such as books, music, and software.
Chattels: Refers to personal property that is movable, such as furniture, clothing, and electronics.
Animals: Refers to living creatures that can be owned, such as pets, livestock, and exotic animals.
Money: Refers to currency, coins, checks, and other forms of payment that are used to buy and sell goods and services.
- "In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person."
- "In order for a structure (also called an improvement or fixture) to be considered part of the real property, it must be integrated with or affixed to the land."
- "Examples include crops, buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, and roads."
- "The term is historic, arising from the now-discontinued form of action, which distinguished between real property disputes and personal property disputes."
- "Personal property, or personalty, was, and continues to be, all property that is not real property."
- "In countries with personal ownership of real property, civil law protects the status of real property in real estate markets..."
- "Scottish civil law calls real property heritable property..."
- "In French-based law, it is called immobilier ('immovable property')."
- "...solely in the US and Canada, realty..."
- "...where estate agents work in the market of buying and selling real estate."
- "real property, real estate, immovable property, realty, heritable property, immobilier"
- "In order for a structure (also called an improvement or fixture) to be considered part of the real property, it must be integrated with or affixed to the land."
- "Examples include crops, buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, and roads."
- "Civil law protects the status of real property..."
- "Personal property, or personalty, was, and continues to be, all property that is not real property."
- "Scottish civil law calls real property heritable property..."
- "In French-based law, it is called immobilier ('immovable property')."
- "...estate agents work in the market of buying and selling real estate."
- "Real property refers to parcels of land and any associated structures..."
- "The term is historic, arising from the now-discontinued form of action..."