Mississippi Law School 1L Study Guide for Property
I. Introduction to Property Law
- Definition of Property: Legal rights that allow individuals to possess, use, and transfer land, personal items, and intangible benefits.
- Types of Property: Real property (land and things permanently attached to it) and personal property (movable objects).
II. Possession and Ownership
- Acquisition of Property: Through purchase, gift, or finding.
- Rule of First Possession: The first person to take possession of something that has no owner becomes its owner.
- Adverse Possession in Mississippi: To gain title by adverse possession, use must be actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous for a period of ten years. (Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-13)
- Lost, Mislaid, and Abandoned Property: Different rules apply to property depending on its status; finders may have rights to abandoned property but not necessarily to lost or mislaid items.
III. Estates in Land
- Freehold Estates: Ownership interests of indeterminate duration, including fee simple absolute, fee tail, and life estates.
- Fee Simple Absolute: The most complete estate one can possess in land, potentially lasting forever.
- Fee Tail: An estate that is inheritable only by direct descendants of the grantee, largely abolished in the United States.
- Life Estates: Ownership limited to the duration of a person’s life.
- Leasehold Estates: Tenancies for a specific duration or at will.
IV. Concurrent Ownership
- Tenancy in Common: Each owner has an undivided interest in the property with no right of survivorship.
- Joint Tenancy: Ownership with the right of survivorship; upon death, a tenant’s interest passes to the surviving joint tenants.
- Tenancy by the Entirety: Similar to joint tenancy but only available to married couples.
- Condominiums and Cooperatives: Ownership structures for multi-unit buildings.
V. Landlord-Tenant Law
- Mississippi Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: Governs rental agreements and duties between landlords and tenants. (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-1 et seq.)
- Lease Agreements: Must adhere to state laws and define the rights and obligations of the parties.
- Security Deposits: Regulated by state law; landlords must return deposits within a specified time after lease termination, less any deductions for damages.
- Eviction: Legal process to remove a tenant; must comply with statutory procedures and notice requirements.
VI. Real Property Transactions
- Contract of Sale: Binding agreement between buyer and seller outlining terms for the transfer of property.
- Deeds: Legal instruments that convey property from the grantor to the grantee.
- Types of Deeds: Warranty deed (provides the most protection), special warranty deed, and quitclaim deed.
- Recording Statutes: Protects interests of buyers and creditors; Mississippi uses a “race-notice” statute, giving priority to the first party to record the deed who had no notice of prior unrecorded interests.
VII. Land Use Controls
- Zoning: Local governments regulate land use through zoning ordinances.
- Eminent Domain: The power of the state to take private property for public use with just compensation.
- Restrictive Covenants: Private agreements that restrict the use of land.
VIII. Easements and Servitudes
- Easements: A nonpossessory interest in land that grants the right to use another’s property.
- Creation of Easements: By express grant or reservation, implication, necessity, or prescription.