Introduction
An Appurtenance is a very important legal term in the study of Real Estate Law and Industry. It refers to anything that is attached to a property and thereby increasing the value and function of the property. An Appurtenance is something permanently attached to the property and thereby gets transferred along with the property when the transfer of ownership of the property is made (whether by Sale, Succession, or Gift).
Appurtenances are often referred to as the “run with the land”, as they consist of rights, privileges, or improvements that permanently become the part of the land get transferred along with it, which means that are considered to be a part of the property. Examples of the Appurtenances include driveways, fences, mineral, water and air rights attached and associated with a property.
Click here to learn the brief description of the term Appurtenance.
Types of Appurtenances
Appurtenances are generally categorized into two types: Tangible and Intangible.
Tangible Appurtenances
The physical items attached to the property are referred to as the Tangible Appurtenances. These physical items are kind of a permanent fixtures to the property which add utility or value to it by any means.
The Tangible Appurtenances for example – buildings trees, fences, sidewalks, any sewers any improvement that man makes to the property is considered to be an appurtenance to the land. Perennial plant and the landscaping that you install, that is Real Property as well so would be an appurtenance.
Intangible Appurtenance
The Intangible Appurtenances are those for example all the rights that go along with property mineral rights air rights water rights, air rights etc. These rights or privileges are not physical objects but still these rights benefit the property. Examples include Easements (such the right of way over another’s land to have an entrance into one’s land (Easements become an Encumbrance from opposite perspective)), water rights, air rights or mineral rights. Intangible appurtenances have no fixed physical presence, since they are just the rights and privileges which can be enforced by different means but even without having any fixed presence, these intangible appurtenances increase the value of the property by adding utility to it.
In Real Estate Transactions, both Tangible and Intangible appurtenances have relevance for the Sale and Transfer to the new owner along with the property.
I am a Commerce Graduate and Real Estate Consultant.