Land ownership

kwerk

kwerk

kwerk

Wise Guy
Soldato
Joined
23 May 2009
Posts
5,748
When you think about it, you technically own all the earth under your house right down to the center of the earth's core. That's a lot of land!

Or does the government set some sort of depth limit like the do with the air above your house?
 
We don't own it - we can own the right to the freehold, which we can pass on. The land belongs to the crown and if you die without anyone to pass it onto the freehold reverts to the crown.

Also if the earth below the land contains minerals you might not actually own the rights to those.

also

Or does the government set some sort of depth limit like the do with the air above your house?
Click to expand...

there is no limit either above or below AFAIK
 
mollymoo said:
I think the crown owns all the land beneath you, or something.
Click to expand...

For Scottish law at least you nominally own the land a coelo usque ad centrum which roughly translated means from the centre of the Earth to the sky above. This was taken from the Roman civil law.

However it's not without limits because your feu superior previously may have reserved the mineral rights, planning law may restrict you, you will find that there are limits regarding aircraft etc. In Roman times it wasn't necessarily important to put on such restrictions because that would be dealing with problems that didn't exist then but now you'll rapidly find your rights curtailed if you're really pushing the boundaries of what you can do with your land.

I should also point out that with flats outside the top and bottom of the block you own that particular section of "air" space, your rights above and below don't exist generally speaking. It can all get quite complicated and you may have responsibilities for upkeep and maintenance but that's a very quick overview.
 
K.C. Leblanc said:
Why don't you go an sit on a really tall chair and collect toll money of passing aircraft then?
Click to expand...

asim18 said:
Of course there is.

It's called airspace and is usually controlled/restricted by civil/military aviation authorities.
Click to expand...

the fact that planes can fly over your land doesn't negate the fact that it is your land including the airspace over it....

in other news - public footpaths exist... and no you can't collect toll money or prevent the use of it if one crosses your land either...
 
I have always wondered if it's possible to build a house underground without anyone noticing. i.e drill onto someone elses land and then build a house ( of course it won't be a proper house but some sort of dwelling).
 
Last edited:
asim18 said:
Exactly. They charge a "toll" for entering their private land.
Click to expand...

No you don't understand, a public pathway can be on private land. Have you ever been on a country walk before?
I could put a toll on my private land if I wanted to but not if it was obstructing a public path!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom