Ownership and estates
Freehold estate
An estate of ownership lasting an indefinite period
Freehold covers the estates a person owns rather than rents — fee simple in its several forms, and life estates. The defining feature is indefinite duration: on the day the estate begins nobody can say when it ends.
Easily confused with
A leasehold estate is possession for a determinable period, and it is classified as personal property rather than real property in most jurisdictions.
How the exam asks about it
The division is freehold against leasehold, and duration decides it. A ninety-nine-year lease is still leasehold; a life estate that happens to end next year is still freehold.
Quick check: Freehold estate
One question. Pick an answer to see the explanation.
Which term is being defined: “An estate of ownership lasting an indefinite period”?
Related terms
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