9 PROPRIETY RIGHTS ENJOYED FROM LAND AND PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

Owning land and/or landed property is one of the fundamental ideologies behind man’s existence on earth. This is largely due in part to it been used as a yardstick in determining one’s level of success, influence, status and socio-political power among family members and relatives, peer groups, colleagues and the society at large.

However, there are some certain types of propriety rights that are enjoyed from owning land and landed properties which I will explain to you today. But before I go on with my explanations, let me briefly define Estate Management as a course of study in order to ignite your enthusiasm and curiosity on the topic.

Thorncroft, M (1965) defined Estate Management as “the direction and supervision of an interest in landed property with the aim of securing an optimum return. This return need not always be financial but may be in terms of social benefits, status, prestige, political power or some other goals or group of goals”

From the definition above, you will realize that it is through directing and supervising the various interests inherent in land and landed property ownership that brings about the study of estate management to assist and guide the property owner in achieving their identified goal or group of goals.

Propriety Rights and Interests are the Bundle of Rights which an owner of land and/or landed property has and enjoys from its ownership. 

Some of this bundle of rights includes:

·         Right to lawful possession

·         Right to alienate of transfer

·         Right to lease

·         Right to sell

·         Right to income accruing from land and landed property

·         Right to develop and/or redevelop

·         Right to mortgage it

·         Right to claim possession and ownership

·         Right to grant lesser interests and rights

1.      RIGHT TO LAWFUL POSSESSION

One of the rights which an owner of land and/or landed property enjoys from its ownership is the right to lawful and actual possession. 

An owner of land and/or landed property who has acquired a land and/or landed property legitimately from the appropriate source, has an exclusive right to take actual and lawful possession without any fear of been ejected or dispossessed from doing so. 

In the event of any government acquisition exercise, the owner of such land and/or landed property will be entitled to adequate compensation for the exclusive right of lawful possession which has been taken from him/her in such circumstance.

2.      RIGHT TO ALIENATE OR TRANSFER

Another right which an owner of land and/or landed property has over its ownership status is the right to alienate or transfer the land and/or landed property to his children, wife/husband, immediate family or any other person he/she so desires to alienate or transfer the land and/or landed property to.

What is only required from the owner of such land and/or landed property in transferring or alienating the land and/or landed property in question is a well written, signed and stamped document which specifically spells out who the land and/or landed property is been transferred or alienated to by the right owner. 

3.      RIGHT TO LEASE

This is one of the most common types of rights which an owner of land and/or landed property enjoys from its ownership. It is commonly found among property investors who owns residential and commercial land and/or landed properties that are leased out to prospective clients in need/demand of such class of land and/or landed property.

What the right indicates is that an owner of land and/or landed property has the exclusive right to lease out his land and/or landed property for tenancy or leasehold purpose in consideration for money paid in form of rent.

In exercising his right to lease the land and/or landed property, the owner usually employ the services of a professional real estate agent who is given the mandate and instruction to manage the land and/or landed property as well as accept rent paying tenants with good characters/beaviours into the property. 

4.      RIGHT TO SELL

Another right which is synonymous to the right to alienate or transfer land and/or landed property by the owner is the right to sell such land and/or landed property which he/she enjoys absolute ownership and possession anytime he/she wishes to do so.

An owner of land and/or landed property having absolute possession of the land as well as legitimate/genuine title documents on the land and/or landed property has the sole right to sell the land and/or landed property anytime he so desires to do asuch. 

The owner of the land and/or landed property can as well sell at any price he desires or as been advised by the professional Estate Surveyor and Valuer whom he has consulted for his/her expertise.

5.      RIGHT TO INCOME ACCRUING FROM LAND AND/OR LANDED PROPERTY

An owner of land and/or landed property also has the exclusive right to streams of income accruing from the land and/or landed property which he has absolute possession and ownership claim of. 

The streams of income accruing to owner of the land and/or landed property may be in form of leasehold, sales or development of the land and/or landed property.

6.      RIGHT TO DEVELOP AND/OR REDEVELOP

What an owner of land and/or landed property can also do from owning land and/or landed property is the right to develop or re-develop the land and/or landed property anytime he/she wishes to do so.

An owner of a bare land can for instance develop such land into different classes of built-up structures based on the need and demand for that type of structure. Such developed built-up structures may be in the form of residential accommodations, commercial and recreational structures.

Another scenario is a situation whereby the owner of land and/or landed property due the right he has on the ownership of such land and/or landed property redevelops it either to enable it meets up with the current building standard or modifies it into something different entirely.

7.      RIGHT TO MORTGAGE

The owner of land and/or landed property also has the exclusive right to mortgage his/her land and/or landed property with a mortgage or financial institution in consideration for loan advancement.

The land and/or landed property which an owner has mortgaged will serve as collateral for the loan advancement which he/she is seeking from the mortgage or financial institution.

The mortgaged land and/or landed property will revert back to the rightful owner once the loan instrument has been offset with the mortgage or financial institution by the owner.

8.      RIGHT TO CLAIM POSSESSION AND OWNERSHIP

The owner of land and/or landed property also has an exclusive right to claim possession and ownership from illegal occupants of such land and/or landed property.

In claiming possession or ownership of the land and/or landed property back from illegal occupants, the rightful owner will need to tender all his title documents legally tenable in any court of law which specifically indicate and reveal that the claimant is the rightful owner of such land and/or landed property in question.

9.      RIGHT TO GRANT LESSER INTERESTS AND RIGHTS

The other right which an owner of land and/or landed property also enjoys from such ownership is the right to grant lesser interests and rights on his/her land and/or landed property with some specified restrictions indicating the obligations of enjoying such rights and interests for whom it is granted by the actual owner.

Some of the lesser rights and interests which can be granted by an owner of land and/or landed property are: easement, license, profit aprendre, way leaves, covenants, etc.

I hope with all these explanations above, you are in a good position to know the various propriety rights you can enjoy from owning land and/or landed property.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adeniyi Akinjiyan is a Higher National Diploma (HND) holder of Estate Management from the prestigious Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos state, Nigeria. He possesses a Professional Practice Certificate in Estate Surveying and Valuation from the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).

He is the principal consultant of Aakient Consultants Ltd, a highly progressive and consolidated property and construction project management company, which is committed to providing the highest level of professional services in meeting clients’ real estate needs.

Feel free to contact him at: aakientconsultants@gmail.com