Possession (law)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Possession" law – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs attention from an expert in Law. The specific problem is: contradictory statements. WikiProject Law may be able to help recruit an expert. (February 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Look up possession in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Property law
Part of the common law series
Types
Personal property Community property Real property Unowned property
Acquisition
Gift Adverse possession Deed Conquest Discovery Accession Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property Treasure trove Bailment License Alienation
Estates in land
Allodial title Fee simple Fee tail Life estate Defeasible estate Future interest remainder Concurrent estate Leasehold estate Condominiums Real estate Land tenure
Conveyancing
Bona fide purchaser Torrens title Strata title Deeds registration Estoppel by deed Quitclaim deed Mortgage Equitable conversion Action to quiet title Escheat
Future use control
Restraint on alienation Rule against perpetuities Rule in Shelley's Case Doctrine of worthier title
Nonpossessory interest
Lien Easement Profit Usufruct Covenant Equitable servitude
Related topics
Fixtures Waste Partition Practicing without a license Property rights Mineral rights Water rights prior appropriation riparian Lateral and subjacent support Assignment Nemo dat Quicquid plantatur Conflict of property laws Blackacre Security deposit
Other common law areas
Contract law Tort law Wills, trusts and estates Criminal law Evidence Higher category: Law and Common law
v t e

In law, possession is the control a person intentionally exercises toward a thing. Like ownership, the possession of anything is commonly regulated under the property law of a jurisdiction. In all cases, to possess something, a person must have an intention to possess it as well as access to it and control over it. A person may be in possession of some piece of property without being its owner.^[1]