Hereditament

In common law, a hereditament (from Latin hereditare, to inherit, from heres, heir) is any kind of property that can be inherited.[1]

Hereditaments are divided into corporeal and incorporeal. Corporeal hereditaments are "such as affect the senses, and may be seen and handled by the body; incorporeal are not the subject of sensation, can neither be seen nor handled, are creatures of the mind, and exist only in contemplation".[2] An example of a corporeal hereditament is land held in freehold[1] and in leasehold.

Examples of incorporeal hereditaments are hereditary titles of honour or dignity, heritable titles of office, coats of arms, prescriptive baronies, pensions, annuities, rentcharges, franchises — and any other interest having no physical existence.[3] Two categories related to the church have been abolished in England and Wales and certain other parts of the British Isles: tithes and advowsons. The term featured in the one-time "sweeper definition", catch-all phrase, "lands, tenements and hereditaments"[1] is deprecated in contemporary legal documents. The terms "land, buildings" and where such land is unregistered "appurtenant rights" invariably coupled with itemised lists more properly describe property respectively forming and connected with land, as distinguished from goods and chattels or movable property.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hereditament". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 350.
  2. ^ Blackstone, Commentaries
  3. ^ HM Land Registry Practice Guide 22 Manors at section 2: Lordship titles