Also known as: possessory estate · possessory interest · possessory interests · present estates · estates in possession
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Present interests in land that entitle the holder to immediate possession. The classification turns on the duration and conditions attached to the right of possession rather than on future interests that may follow.
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Perry Pratt conveyed a warehouse to Paul Peterson for a five-year term that ended on June 1. After the term expired Peterson remained in possession without asserting any new claim of title. The continued occupancy created an estate at sufferance because Peterson had originally entered under a valid conveyance yet stayed after that interest ended.
Patricia Patel granted Priscilla Parks permission to store equipment on a corner of her lot. Patel later sold the lot to Pedro Pacheco. The sale terminated Parks's possessory interest and ended the license because the new owner held the full possessory estate free of the prior consent.
The United States conveyed land to a railroad subject to a right-of-way that later reverted when rail service ended. The Brandt Trust claimed the strip as a fee simple possessory estate while the government asserted a mere easement. Resolution turned on whether the original grant created a present possessory interest or a limited future interest.
CompuServe allowed Cyber Promotions to send messages through its servers under a prior agreement. After the agreement terminated Cyber Promotions continued sending messages. The court treated the continued access as an interference with CompuServe's possessory interest in its servers.
Two brothers held a ranch as joint tenants with right of survivorship. One brother conveyed his interest to a third party. The conveyance converted the estate into a tenancy in common and destroyed the survivorship feature because each now held a distinct possessory estate.
A cooperative sprayed pesticides that drifted onto neighboring fields owned by Johnson. The court examined whether the chemical particles constituted an invasion of Johnson's possessory interest in the surface and subsurface of the land.
A possessory estate gives the holder the present right to occupy or control the land. A future interest postpones that right until a later event occurs. The distinction controls remedies such as ejectment and waste claims.
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Yes. The holder enjoys immediate possession even though the estate may end automatically upon a stated event. Partition rights and waste liability attach because the interest is presently possessory.
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No. A license is a revocable privilege that does not transfer any estate in the land. Only a conveyance or adverse possession can create a possessory estate.
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…to which Teleprompter's cable and hardware attach. Under modern landlord-tenant law, a residential tenancy is not merely a possessory interest in specified space, but also a contract for the provision of a package of services and facilities necessary and appurtenant to that space. See R. Schoshinski, American Law of Landlord and…