An estate in land is an interest in real property

Real property

In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...

 that is or may become possessory.

This should be distinguished from an "estate" as used in reference to an area of land, and "estate

Immovable property

Immovable property is an immovable object, an item of property that cannot be moved without destroying or altering it - property that is fixed to the Earth, such as land or a house. In the United States it is also commercially and legally known as real estate and in Britain as property...

" as used to refer to property in general.

In property law, the rights and interests associated with an estate in land may be conceptually understood as a "bundle of rights

Bundle of Rights

The bundle of rights is a common way to explain the complexities of property ownership. Teachers often use this concept as a way to organize confusing and sometimes contradictory data about real estate....

" because of the potential for different parties having different interests in the same real property

Real property

In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...

.

Categories of estates

Estates in land

Real property

In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...

 can be divided into four basic categories:

1. Freehold estates: rights of ownership
   • fee simple
     Fee simple
     In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...
     
      (fee simple absolute)—most rights, least limitations, indefeasible
   • fee tail
     Fee tail
     At common law, fee tail or entail is an estate of inheritance in real property which cannot be sold, devised by will, or otherwise alienated by the owner, but which passes by operation of law to the owner's heirs upon his death...
     
     —inalienable rights of inheritance
   • conditional, defeasible estate
     Defeasible estate
     A defeasible estate is created when a grantor transfers land conditionally. Upon the happening of the event or condition stated by the grantor, the transfer may be void or at least subject to annulment...
     
     , or determinable fee—voidable ownership
   • life estate
     Life estate
     A life estate is a concept used in common law and statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms it is an estate in real property that ends at death when there is a "reversion" to the original owner...
     
     —ownership for duration of someone's life
2. Leasehold estate
   Leasehold estate
   A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
   
   s: rights of possession and use but not ownership. The lessor
   Lessor
   Lessor is the name of two places in the United States:*Lessor, Wisconsin*Lessor Township, Minnesota...
   
    (owner/landlord
   Landlord
   A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
   
   ) gives this right to the lessee (tenant
   Leasehold estate
   A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
   
   ). There are four categories of leasehold estates:
   1. estate for years (tenancy for years)—lease of any length with specific begin and end date
   2. periodic estate (periodic tenancy)—automatically renewing lease (month to month, week to week)
   3. estate at will (tenancy at will)—leasehold for no fixed time or period. It lasts as long as both parties desire. Termination is bilateral (either party may terminate at any time) or by operation of law.
   4. tenancy at sufferance—created when tenant remains after lease expires and becomes a holdover tenant, converts to holdover tenancy upon landlord acceptance.
   • Types of lease
     Lease
     A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
     
     s:
     • gross lease
       Gross lease
       In a gross lease, the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership. Most apartment leases are gross leases.-References:...
       
       
     • net lease
       Net lease
       In commercial real estate, a net lease requires the tenant to pay, in addition to rent, some or all of the property expenses which normally would be paid by the property owner...
       
       
     • percentage lease
3. Statutory estates: created by law
   • community property
     Community property
     Community property is a marital property regime that originated in civil law jurisdictions and is now also found in some common law jurisdictions...
     
     
   • homestead
     Homestead exemption
     Homestead exemption is a legal regime designed to protect the value of the homes of residents from property taxes, creditors, and circumstances arising from the death of the homeowner spouse...
     
     
   • dower
     Dower
     Dower or morning gift was a provision accorded by law to a wife for her support in the event that she should survive her husband...
     
     —interest a wife has in the property of her husband
   • curtesy
     Curtesy
     Curtesy tenure is the legal term denoting the life interest which a widower may claim in the lands of his deceased wife, under certain conditions...
     
     —interest a husband has in the property of his wife
   • tenancy by entirety
4. Equitable estate
   Equitable interest
   An equitable interest is an "interest held by virtue of an equitable title or claimed on equitable grounds, such as the interest held by a trust beneficiary." The equitable interest is a right in equity that, if violated , is subject to satisfaction...
   
   s: neither ownership nor possession
   • lien
     Lien
     In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...
     
     
     • general
     • specific
   • easement
     Easement
     An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
     
     
     • easement in gross
     • easement appurtenant
       • ingress
       • egress