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All references to "Anger and Honsberger" are to Osterhoff and
Rayner's Anger and Honsberger: Law of
All references to "Black's" are to Black's Law Dictionary, 6th ed. (St. Paul, M.N.: West Publishing Co., 1990).
All references to "Di Castri" are to Victor Di Castri, Law of
Vendor and Purchaser: The Law and Practice Relating to
All references to "Dukelow" are to Dukelow, Daphne and Betsy Nuse, The Dictionary of Canadian Law (Toronto: Carswell, 1991).
All references to "Fleming" are to John G. Fleming, The Law of Torts, 6th ed., (Sydney: The Law Book Co., 1983).
All references to "Oxford" are to The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 3rd ed., (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973).
Aboriginal person. "An original, a native or an indigenous person." (Dukelow quoting Canadian Cultural Property Export Control List, C.R.C. c. 448, s. 1.)
Alienate (property). To transfer property.
Assign. Transfer of an interest (for example, in land).
Assignee. One to whom a right is assigned.
Assignor. One who assigns a right to another.
Assignment. "Act of assigning, or a document by which something is assigned." Dukelow
Beneficiary. A person entitled to benefit under a trust or will.
Beneficial interest. The interest which a beneficiary has under a trust or will. A beneficial interest is also called an "equitable interest."
Bequeath (property). To leave (property) under a will.
Bequest. A bequest is a gift to someone made in a will.
Certificate of title. The certificate of title is a summary of key information pertaining to the title of a piece of property, including who holds the fee simple in the property, and most of the charges and encumbrances relevant to the title, which is maintained at the land title office.
Chancery, Court of. The court established in England to enforce the rules of equity.
Charge (on land). A registered interest less than fee simple, including an encumbrance.
Charitable purpose trust. A trust which is established not for a beneficiary, but for purposes which are "charitable" as the term has been interpreted by the courts.
Common law. "1. In contrast to statute law, law which relies for its authority on the decisions of the courts and is recorded in the law reports as decisions of judges along with the reasons for their decisions; and, 2. In contrast to canon (or ecclesiastical) and the civil (or Roman) law, the system of law in provinces other than Quebec." Dukelow The phrase at common law, means in the law as developed by the judges.
Contract. "An agreement between two or more persons, recognized by law, which gives rise to obligations that the courts may enforce ... A promise, or set of promises, which one person gives in exchange for the promise, or set of promises, of another person." Dukelow
Co-ownership. Ownership of real or personal property by two or more people together.
Coparcener. "A person to whom an estate in common with one or more other persons has descended." Dukelow
Courts of equity. See Chancery, Court of. "The main English court in which the part of law known as equity was enforced. The Lord Chancellor presided, assisted by the Master of the Rolls and judges called Vice-Chancellors." Dukelow
Covenant. A promise; in real property law, a promise made by a landowner with respect to uses of the land limiting or prescribing the uses to which the land will be put.
Covenantee. One for the benefit of whom a covenant is made.
Covenantor. A person who makes a covenant.
Crown. The reigning monarch of England, who is the constitutional head of the Canadian government and whose powers are carried out by the provincial and federal governments respectively. The "Crown in right of the Province" refers to acts carried out by the Lieutenant Governor, always on the advice of the current provincial Cabinet; the "Crown in right of Canada" refers to acts carried out by the Governor General, always on the advice of the current federal Cabinet.
Crown Land. Land in which the Crown holds the fee simple.
Cy-pres. (From the French: near to it). "The doctrine of construction applied so that a testator's intentions are followed as nearly as possible in a case where a gift would otherwise fail." Dukelow
Deed. "A document signed, sealed and delivered, through which an interest, property or right passes." Dukelow
Defeasance. "The rendering null and void of an act, condition, right, etc.; a condition upon the performance of which a deed is defeated or made void." Oxford
Determinable fee simple. A "determinable fee simple" means ownership of the estate in fee simple which will end (determine) if a particular event happens.
Devise. "A disposition or gift by will." Dukelow
Divest. "To take away; to deprive; to remove an estate or interest which was already vested in a person." Dukelow
Dominant tenement. Land which gets the benefit of a covenant or easement over a neighbouring property called the servient tenement.
Duty of care. "A requirement which the law recognizes to avoid conduct characterized by unreasonable risk of danger to other persons ..." Dukelow
Easement. "An easement is a privilege without profit annexed to land to utilize the land of a different owner (which does not involve the removal of any part of the soil or the natural produce of the land) or to prevent the other owner from utilizing his land in a particular manner for the advantage of the dominant owner." Anger and Honsberger
Encumber. To put a charge on land, for example a mortgage, lien, etc.
Encumbrance. Encumbrance includes a judgment, mortgage, lien, Crown debt or other claim to or on land created or given for any purpose, whether by the act of the parties or any Act or law, and whether voluntary or involuntary.
Equitable. "Fair; according to the rules of equity." Dukelow
Equity. "1. Fairness. 2. That part of the general law which provides remedies not available at common law in many cases ..." Dukelow
Estate. "1. An interest in land. 2. All the property of which a testator or an intestate had power to dispose by will ..." Dukelow
Estate in fee simple. The largest possible bundle of ownership rights in a piece of land; includes the right to exclusive possession of the land, the right to use the land; and the right to dispose of it.
Estate pur autre vie (French: Estate for the life of another). A grant of property to a person for the lifetime of someone else.
Express trust. A trust which is deliberately created by a settlor, who specifies who the trustee is and what the objects of the trust are.
Expropriation. The action of an expropriating body in taking a landowner's land without his or her consent, under legislation permitting the expropriating body to do that.
Fee simple. "The estate in fee simple is the largest estate or interest known in law and is the most absolute in terms of the rights which it confers. It permits the owner to exercise every conceivable act of ownership upon it or with respect to it, including the right to commit waste. Moreover, his rights extend, in theory at least, 'up to the sky and down to the centre of the earth'." Anger and Honsberger
Fee simple subject to a condition subsequent. "Ownership of the fee simple subject to a condition subsequent" is shorthand for "a condition (of the ownership of the land which is ) subsequent (in time) to the (owner taking ownership of) the fee simple" — that is, outright ownership which may end if a particular condition happens.
Fiduciary duties. Rules binding trustees to act in the interests of the beneficiaries of the trust in the management of trust property.
Freehold. "An interest in land by which the freeholder is entitled to hold the land for an unfixed and uncertain period of time." Dukelow
Gift over. A gift over is a shorthand way of describing the second or subsequent interest in property that a grantor or testator makes. For example, in a bequest "to Juanita for life, then to the West Coast Islands Conservancy", West Coast Islands Conservancy has the gift over.
Grant. "Any grant of Crown land, whether by letters patent under the Great Seal, a notification or any other instrument whether in fee or for years, and whether direct from Her Majesty or by or pursuant to any statute." Dukelow
Grantee. One to whom a grant is made.
Grantor. One who makes a grant.
Incorporate. To establish a separate legal identity under the relevant statutes relating to societies or companies.
Indefeasible. "That which cannot be defeated, revoked, or made void. This term is usually applied to an estate or right which cannot be defeated." Black's
Indian reserves. Land held by the federal government for First Nations under the Indian Act.
Instrument. "[I]nstrument means ... a formal legal document." Dukelow
Inter vivos (Latin: between lives). While alive. For example, an inter vivos transfer is a transfer made while one is alive.
Joint tenancy. A joint tenancy is one form of co-ownership in land. A joint tenant owns an undivided interest in the estate in land along with other joint tenant(s); and has a right of survivorship to the share(s) of the other joint tenant(s). A joint tenancy between A and B can only exist if there are the "four unities": A and B's interests (1) must be of the same kind — for example cannot be a life estate for A and a fee simple for B; (2) must have vested at the same time; (3) must have been created by the same instrument; and (4) must be an "undivided interest" to each of A and B.
Land. In law, land means not just the surface area of a piece of real estate but includes the undersurface and the air over the land.
Landowner. In this book, "landowner" is used to refer to the person holding an estate in fee simple.
Land Title Office. The land title office is the centralized daily registry of changes in the title to individual pieces of property. There are offices around the province.
Land trust. "Land trust" is a term used especially in the U.S. to refer to conservation organizations which acquire land or interests in land for conservation purposes. In the Canadian context these organizations might be called conservancy associations, societies, or by some other name. In this book we refer to them as "conservation organizations."
Lease. A lease is an interest in land which gives the tenant the right to exclusive possession of the land for a period of time, usually in return for rent.
Legal interest. The part of the bundle of ownership rights which enables the holder to register his or her name on the title to property; or the rights which the courts of common law would enforce.
Lessee. A tenant under a lease.
Lessor. A landowner under a lease.
Life estate. A grant of property to a person for his or her life.
Lis pendens (Latin: pending suit). A notice of a pending lawsuit registered against the title to property.
Nuisance. "An activity or physical condition which causes harm or annoyance or the harm resulting from the activity or condition." Dukelow
Objects of a trust. The objects of a trust are either the beneficiary or beneficiaries, or the purposes, of the trust instrument.
Occupier's liability. "An area of the law of negligence concerning the duty owed to an intruder or a visitor by one who owns or occupies land." Dukelow
Official community plan. Official community plans are plans adopted by a municipality or regional board under the provisions of the Municipal Act and governing such things as the protection of the natural environment, the protection of development from hazardous conditions, the protection of heritage sites, commercial revitalization, and guidelines for the form and character of commercial, industrial or multifamily residential development.
Option to purchase. An option to purchase is a contract between a landowner and a potential purchaser, under which the potential purchaser pays the landowner a sum of money in return for the right to purchase the property if the owner decides to sell.
Optionee. A person who takes an option.
Optionor. A person who grants an option.
Perpetuity, rule against. A common law rule, now amended by the Perpetuity Act, restricting the length of time into the future that a person can control the disposition of land. The common law rule is commonly stated as "[a]n interest in property must vest, if at all, not later than a life or lives in being plus twenty-one years."
Personal property or personalty. "All property other than land or an interest in land or anything attached to it." Dukelow
Plaintiff. One who initiates a lawsuit.
Real property. Land or an interest in land.
Regulation. A law passed not by the legislature or parliament but by a Cabinet process, under a regulation-making authority contained in a statute.
Release. "... The act of conveying or making over an estate or right to another, or disposing of it in some legal fashion; a deed or document made for this purpose ..." Oxford
Remainder. "An expectant portion, residue, remnant or interest limited over to another when a particular estate is created so that that person may enjoy it after the estate is determined." Dukelow
Remainderman. "A person with rightful claim to an expectant estate." Dukelow
Restrictive covenant. "An agreement which restricts the use of property." Dukelow
Reversion. "What a grantor still retains of an estate." Dukelow
Revocation. "Undoing something granted; destroying or voiding a deed which existed until revocation made it void; revoking." Dukelow
Right of entry for condition broken. "A right of entry for condition broken is the interest that remains in the grantor, or in the heirs of the testator, who has conveyed or devised an estate upon condition subsequent." Anger and Honsberger
Right of reentry. A right under a lease for a landlord to enter the property in prescribed circumstances.
Right of first refusal. "A first refusal involves a negative contract obligating A not to part with the land without first offering it to B." Di Castri A right of first refusal is sometimes called a right of pre-emption.
Right of survivorship. "The right of a surviving joint tenant to take the property of the other, deceased, joint tenant." Dukelow
Riparian rights. "The rights of owners of property along a river or shore of other bodies of water." Dukelow
Rule against perpetuities. See, Perpetuities, rule against.
Run with the land. A phrase used to describe an interest in a landowner's land held by someone else, which interest survives a change of ownership of the land.
Seisin. "Feudal possession. The relation in which someone stands to land or a hereditament when that person has an estate of freehold in possession in them." Dukelow
Servient tenement. "A land or tenement over which a servitude has been granted or acquired in favor of a dominant land or tenement." Dukelow
Section 215 Covenant. A covenant in favour of the Crown or certain Crown agencies under section 215 of the Land Title Act. The term "section 215 covenant" is used in this book to distinguish this statutory covenant from common law restrictive covenants and from heritage conservation covenants.
Settlor. A settlor is a person who "settles" property on a trustee. The term settlor is used in the text to refer both to a person who creates a trust during their lifetime, and a person who creates a trust as part of their will (a testator).
Society. In British Columbia, a society is a body incorporated under the Society Act.
Statute. A law passed by a provincial legislature or the federal parliament.
Statutory. Governed by or derived from a statute.
Statutory Building Scheme. A statutory building scheme is a mechanism set up under the Land Title Act which permits a developer to subdivide property and impose common restrictive covenants on the subdivided parcels.
Statutory Right of Way. A statutory right of way is an easement over a piece of property which is created under, and conforms to the requirements of, section 214 of the Land Title Act.
Strata Title. A strata title is a particular form of land ownership in which both individually owned and jointly owned property within the same development are possible. The legislation provides the legal vehicle whereby, for example, the individual suites in a high-rise condominium can be owned by separate persons, while the common property such as the hallways, elevators and lawns can be jointly owned by all the owners of the suites.
Subdivision. Subdivision means the "division of land into two or more parcels ..." (Land Title Act, s. 1).
Sublease. "A tenant's grant of interest in the leased premises which is less than that tenant's own ..." Dukelow
Successor in Title. One who succeeds another as holder of a title in land.
Tenancy in common. A tenancy in common is one form of co-ownership in land. A tenant in common owns an undivided interest in the estate in land, but has no right of survivorship with respect to the shares of another tenant in common.
Tenement. "Something which may be held; something ... subject to tenure." Dukelow
Tenure. "Tenure is the direct result of feudalism, which separated the dominium directum (the dominion of the soil), which is placed mediately or immediately in the Crown, from the dominion utile (the possessory title), the right to the use and profits in the soil, designated by the term 'seisin', which is the highest interest a subject can acquire." Black's
Title. "... Legal right to the possession of property (esp. real property); the evidence of such right; title-deeds ..." Oxford
Title Restrictions. A summary of the restrictions on the title listed on the certificate of title under the heading "charges, liens and interests".
Tort. "1. Wrong. 2. Generally, an injury other than a breach of contract for which recovery of damages is permitted by the law." Dukelow
Transmission. "Applies to change of ownership consequent on death, lunacy, sale under execution, order of court or other act of law, or on a sale for arrears of taxes or on any settlement or any legal succession in case of intestate." Dukelow
Treaty. "In international law, a binding agreement between states." Dukelow
Trespass. "All forcible, direct and immediate injury to the plaintiff's person, land or goods ... may be committed by propelling a person or object onto the land or by refusing to leave land after a licence to enter has terminated." Dukelow
Trust. A trust is a confidence which rests either expressly or impliedly in someone (the trustee) for the benefit of someone else (the beneficiary). A trust can also be a confidence which rests expressly in someone (the trustee) to administer the trust in accordance with the purposes set out by the settlor.
Trustee. A trustee is someone who holds property in trust.
Trust instrument. The document which creates a trust.
Undivided interest. A beneficial ownership in common of the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of a piece of property.
Vassal. "In the feudal system, one holding lands from a superior on conditions of homage and allegiance; a feudatory; a tenant-in-fee ..." Oxford
Vest. "With respect to a right or estate, to rest in some person ..." Dukelow
Waste. Damage to land committed by the person currently entitled to possession to the detriment of the remainderman or reversioner.
Zoning. Regulation of the kinds of uses to which land may be put, by municipalities or regional districts under the authority of the Municipal Act.
