Exam 24: Personal Property, Real Property, and Land Use Law

Leasing of personal property is based on state law modeled after provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.

In the event that a tenant breaches a duty owed under a lease, what are the possible remedies that may be available to the landlord?

X-mart has just purchased 100 acres of land in Happyville. The town, fearful of a huge chain store ruining the economy and putting local businesses out of business, quickly passes an ordinance restricting the size of any new buildings to no more than 5,000 square feet. The typical X-mart store averages approximately 100,000 square feet. Does the town of Happyville have the right to enact a zoning restriction of this nature?

When an adverse possession of real property occurs, title to land transfers without the delivery of a deed from the former owner to the new owner.

Permission to use another's property that may be revoked at any time by the property owner is called a ______.

An easement is a nonpossessory interest in land.

Bridget is the tenant in an apartment in New York, and her lease expires in three months. She expects and wants to renew the lease once it expires. Her employer has assigned her to a two-month assignment in Hawaii. She doesn't want to lose the apartment, so she checks and finds that the lease does not prohibit an assignment of the lease or a sublet of the lease. She is worried that if she assigns or sublets and the person who moves in doesn't pay, she may suffer consequences.

Alice has inherited 21 acres of land in Alaska. Since she has no urge to visit Alaska, she has never seen the land. Ron and Jane have moved onto the land and erected a home. They have started using the land and have even fenced much of it in. There is no mortgage on the land, and Alice doesn't receive a tax bill because Ron and Jane pay the yearly taxes. After the statutory period in Alaska has run, Ron and Jane would become the owners of the land.

When ownership in land is subject to being canceled it is said to be ______.

If the tenant stops paying rent and ignores the landlord's demands, the landlord may constructively evict the tenant, ending the lease agreement.

A tenancy for years will automatically renew if no notice is given by the tenant or landlord of intention to terminate the lease.

An exception to zoning ordinances is called a ______.

Mike asks his girlfriend Brandi if he can borrow her car. Brandi agrees to allow Michael to use her car for the day.

Do you agree with the court's decision in Fontainebleau Hotel v. Eden Roc? Explain. Is this case the same as one in which your neighbor, whom you don't get along with, builds a 40-foot fence on her property that blocks air and light from your deck and swimming pool, claiming she's doing it for security and privacy?

Leasing of personal property is governed by both state property law and state commercial law.

Zoning is generally done at the state level through statutes passed by the state legislature.

Bob has inherited a small home in Wyoming from his deceased uncle George. Bob has no desire to live in Wyoming, but he enjoys going up to his Wyoming property to fish for two weeks every fall and spring. George's lawyer has agreed to have the home secured when Bob leaves and to have it opened when he's planning to visit. George's lawyer, without asking or informing Bob, has suggested to his freeloading brother Alan and Alan's wife, Judith, that they stay at Bob's Wyoming place and simply vacate just before Bob shows up, which they do. They live there acting like the owners for 48 weeks every year. The statutory period for adverse possession in Wyoming is 10 years. After 12 years Alan and Judith file for ownership under Wyoming's adverse possession statute.

Water rights are also known as ________ rights.

The Takings Clause is found in the Constitution's:

The power of a municipality to pass zoning ordinances stems from: