Hereditament in United Kingdom
Definition of Hereditament
In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Hereditament :
1. Historically, any real property capable of being passed to an heir. Corporeal hereditaments are tangible items of property, such as land and buildings. Incorporeal hereditaments are intangible rights in land, such as easements and profits a prendre.
2. A unit of land that has been separately assessed for rating purposes.
History
Hereditament (from Lat. hereditare, to inherit, heres, heir), in law, every kind of property that can be inherited. 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” (Blackstone, Commentaries).
An example of a corporeal hereditament is land held in freehold, of incorporeal hereditaments, tithes, advowsons, pensions, annuities, rents, franchises, etc. It is still used in the phrase “lands, tenements and hereditaments” to describe property in land, as distinguished from goods and chattels or movable property.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)
Leave a Reply