Property Rights and Boundaries: What Ownership Actually Gives You

The “Bundle of Rights”: Ownership as a Set of Permissions

In real estate, ownership is best understood as a bundle of rights—a set of legal permissions connected to a specific parcel of land. You can hold many rights, but not always all of them, and some may be shared with others or limited by law or agreements. Thinking in “rights” helps you predict what you can do with a property and what could block your plans.

These rights commonly include: possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, and disposition. Each right can be reduced, shared, or conditioned without eliminating ownership entirely.

1) Possession (The Right to Occupy)

Possession is the right to occupy and use the property as the holder of title (or as someone legally entitled to be there). It answers: “Who gets to be here?”

• Example: You buy a house and move in. You possess it.
• Shared possession: Co-owners can both have possession rights (even if they don’t live there at the same time).
• Possession can be separated: A tenant has the right to possess during the lease term, while the owner keeps other rights (like disposition, subject to the lease).

2) Control (The Right to Decide How It’s Used)

Control is the right to make decisions about the property’s use—within legal limits. It answers: “What can I do with it?”

• Example: You decide to remodel a kitchen, rent out a room, or landscape the yard.
• Control is often limited: Local building codes, permits, and private restrictions can narrow your choices even though you still own the property.

3) Exclusion (The Right to Keep Others Out)

Exclusion is the right to prevent others from entering or using the property. It answers: “Who must stay off?”

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• Example: You can tell a stranger to leave your driveway.
• Exclusion is not absolute: Utility workers may have a legal right to enter a defined area if an easement exists (more on this below).

4) Enjoyment (The Right to Use It Without Unreasonable Interference)

Enjoyment is the right to use the property in a way that provides benefit and comfort, without others unreasonably interfering. It answers: “Can I peacefully use it?”

• Example: You enjoy your backyard, host a barbecue, or garden.
• Limits show up as nuisance rules: You may be free to play music, but not at a volume/time that unreasonably disturbs neighbors.

5) Disposition (The Right to Transfer or Encumber)

Disposition is the right to sell, gift, lease, or mortgage the property. It answers: “Can I transfer it, and on what terms?”

• Example: You sell the home, leave it to heirs, or refinance with a mortgage.
• Disposition can be constrained: A lease reduces your ability to deliver immediate possession to a buyer; a deed restriction may limit what a future buyer can do.

How Rights Get Limited or Shared (Without “Taking Away” Ownership)

Most real-world ownership includes limitations. The key is to identify which right is affected and how. Below are common limitations you’ll see in transactions, surveys, title reports, and local regulations.

A) Easements (A Shared Use Right Over Part of the Land)

An easement is a legal right for someone else to use a specific portion of your property for a specific purpose. You still own the land, but your exclusion and sometimes control are limited in the easement area.

• Utility easement: A power company can access a strip of land to maintain lines. You may be prohibited from building permanent structures there.
• Access/ingress-egress easement: A neighbor may have the right to drive across a driveway portion to reach their lot.
• Drainage easement: A swale or underground pipe route must remain unobstructed.

Practical step-by-step: how to evaluate an easement before you buy or build

1. Locate it: Review the survey/plat map and title documents for easement descriptions (width, location, purpose).
2. Translate it to the ground: Walk the property and match the description to visible markers (utility boxes, poles, manholes) and survey stakes.
3. Check allowed/prohibited uses: Some easements allow fences; others prohibit them. Many prohibit buildings or deep-rooted trees.
4. Assess your plan: If you want a pool, garage, ADU, or addition, confirm it won’t sit in the easement area.
5. Ask about maintenance access: Determine how often entry occurs and whether vehicles need access (affects enjoyment and landscaping choices).

B) Deed Restrictions and Covenants (Private Rules That Run With the Land)

Deed restrictions (often part of covenants/HOA rules) are private limitations recorded in the chain of title. They typically limit control and sometimes disposition (for example, requiring approvals or restricting certain uses).

• Example: A restriction may prohibit parking RVs in view, limit fence height, or require architectural approval for exterior changes.
• Practical impact: You can own the property and still be unable to build the structure you want or use the property in a particular way.

Practical step-by-step: how to handle deed restrictions

1. Get the recorded documents: Ask for the CC&Rs or deed restriction language, not just a summary.
2. Identify the enforcement mechanism: HOA, architectural committee, or neighboring owners.
3. Match restrictions to your intended use: Rentals, exterior changes, home business, pets, parking, additions.
4. Confirm approval process and timelines: If you need permission, understand the steps before closing or starting work.

C) Encroachments (A Physical Intrusion Across a Boundary)

An encroachment occurs when a structure or improvement crosses a property line (or crosses into an easement or setback area). Encroachments can affect exclusion, control, and sometimes disposition (because they complicate selling or financing).

• Example: A neighbor’s fence is 2 feet onto your lot. Or your shed extends into the neighbor’s parcel.
• Why it matters: You may lose practical use of that strip, face disputes, or need a boundary agreement, removal, or an easement to legalize it.

Practical step-by-step: what to do when an encroachment is suspected

1. Don’t rely on “it looks right”: Order or review a current survey.
2. Document the issue: Photos, measurements, and survey references.
3. Determine severity: Minor (inches) vs. material (feet, structures, driveways).
4. Explore solutions: Removal, boundary line agreement, granting an easement, or a negotiated settlement.
5. Consider transaction impact: Lenders and title insurers may require resolution before closing.

D) Government Powers (Limits That Apply Even Without Private Agreements)

Even if there are no easements or deed restrictions, government powers can limit or shape your rights. A helpful way to remember the main categories is T-P-E-E: Taxation, Police power, Eminent domain, and Escheat.

1) Taxation

Taxation is the government’s power to levy property taxes and enforce payment. It can affect possession and disposition because unpaid taxes can become liens and, in extreme cases, lead to a tax sale.

• Practical example: You own the home, but if you don’t pay property taxes, the government can place a lien that must be cleared to sell or refinance.

2) Police Power (Health, Safety, and Welfare Regulations)

Police power is the authority to regulate land use for public health, safety, and welfare. This commonly affects control and enjoyment.

• Practical examples: Building codes, occupancy limits, fire safety rules, zoning, noise ordinances, and setback requirements.
• What it feels like in real life: You may want to build a deck to the property line, but code requires a setback, guardrails, or permits.

3) Eminent Domain

Eminent domain is the government’s power to take private property for a public use (or public purpose, depending on jurisdiction) with compensation. This can directly affect possession and disposition because ownership can be partially or fully taken.

• Practical example: A city widens a road and takes a strip of your front yard. You may receive compensation, but you lose that portion and may face new setbacks or driveway changes.

4) Escheat

Escheat is the government’s power to take title to property when an owner dies without a will and without legal heirs (rules vary by jurisdiction). This affects disposition because it determines where ownership goes when no lawful transfer exists.

• Practical example: If someone dies owning property and no heirs can be identified under the law, the property may eventually transfer to the state.

Diagram-Style Lot Explanation (Easement + Setback)

Imagine a rectangular residential lot viewed from above. The street is along the bottom edge (the “front”). The lot is 60 feet wide (left to right) and 120 feet deep (front to back).

• Front setback: A 20-foot-deep band runs along the entire front of the lot, measured from the front property line inward. You can landscape there, but you generally cannot place the main structure inside this band.
• Side setbacks: A 5-foot band runs along the left and right sides of the lot from front to back. These create a “buildable rectangle” in the middle.
• Utility easement: Along the back property line, there is a 10-foot-deep utility easement running the full width of the lot. The utility company has the right to access this strip for maintenance.
• House footprint: The house is placed in the center area, outside the front and side setbacks, and it does not extend into the back utility easement.
• Proposed shed (problem): You want to place a shed in the back-right corner. On the diagram, the shed would sit inside the 10-foot utility easement and also within the 5-foot side setback.

Short Application Questions: Identify the Right Affected

Instructions: For each scenario, identify the primary right affected (possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, disposition). Some scenarios affect more than one right; choose the best primary match.

1. A recorded utility easement allows the cable company to enter your backyard strip to repair a line, even if you would prefer they never come onto your land. Which right is most directly limited?
2. Your city requires a permit and a minimum 20-foot front setback, so your planned addition cannot extend forward as designed. Which right is most directly limited?
3. You discover your neighbor’s driveway crosses 3 feet onto your parcel, and you cannot practically fence that area without blocking their access. Which right is most directly limited?
4. You sign a one-year lease to a tenant. During that year, you cannot move into the property even though you still own it. Which right have you temporarily transferred?
5. A deed restriction prohibits short-term rentals, even though you want to list the home on a nightly basis. Which right is most directly limited?
6. You want to sell the property, but an unresolved encroachment makes the buyer’s lender refuse to fund the loan until it’s resolved. Which right is most directly impacted?
7. You play loud music late at night and receive enforcement action under a noise ordinance. Which right is being limited by government regulation?
8. The county places a tax lien due to unpaid property taxes, and you must pay it off to refinance. Which right is most directly affected?
9. The state takes a strip of your land to widen a public road and pays compensation. Which right is most directly affected?
10. An owner dies with no will and no legal heirs can be found, and the property transfers to the state under law. Which right is being determined by this process?