Understanding the bundle of rights edit
Variations on the division between public and private property use can be found throughout the world. While the bunlde of rights concept is strongly rooted in common law, there are comparable ideas in civil law systems and religious law systems. National, sub-national, and municipal laws strongly influence what title owners can do with their property in terms of physical development. Quasi-governmental bodies (such as utility companies) are also permitted to create easments across private property.
Historically the degrees of individual and community control over real property have varied greatly. The differences between capatilism, despotism, socailism, feudalism, and traditional societies often define different standards for land ownership. The bundle of rights concept looks much differently when examined by different types of societies. For instance, a laissez-faire government would allow a much different bundle of rights than a communist government.
Uses edit
Community land trusts and land banking are examples of efforts to rearrange the bundle of rights. This is typically done by dividing the responsibilities of ownership and managment from the rights to use the property. A typical community land trust strategy is to hold ownership over the land and sell the structural improvements to low-income homebuyers. This allows people to buy a home at a price far below the market rate and to realize the benefits of their property value improving.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) divide up the bundle of rights in order to allow commercial investments in real property. These legal structures are becoming more common throughout the developed world.
Squatting presents a non-economic way for people to transfer parts of the bundle of rights. Depending on the applicable laws a squatter can acquire property rights by simply occupying vacant land. Areas with high concentrations of squatters are sometimes thought of as informal settlements. Squatters face great instability due to their lack of title and governmental efforts at "blight removal".
Examples edit
This table breaks down some of the various rights involved in real property ownership. Several of these rights can be transfered betweeen different parties through sale or trade. third parties can obtain the rights to access and profit from several of the public use rights without the consent of the title owner. This is often the case with resource extraction companies such as mines.
| Title Owner | Public Use | Government | Third Party |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|