When a property or a right is attached to a more worthy property or principle, it is called appurtenance. An attachment becomes an integral part of the property. This could include attachments such as an air conditioning unit, a furnace, etc. When a property is sold legally, appurtenance gives the buyer the ownership of certain items that come along with the land.
Appurtenance is used in relation to property that is attached to a bigger or more worthy property. Read on to find out more.
What is appurtenance?
Appurtenance happens when the attachment becomes an integral part of the property. This could include attachments such as an air conditioning unit, a furnace, etc. Appurtenance can also refer to any other object or even privilege connected with affluence, title or status.
There are a few alternate meanings for the word as well. For example, in psychology, the Gestalt theory explains appurtenance as a relationship or a sense of belonging between two aspects that influence each other directly. The word ‘appurtenance’ is also used when describing people who belong to a particular part of the world or a specific country.
In this case, however, we are looking at appurtenance only from the viewpoint of property.
Understanding appurtenance
An appurtenance is a piece of actual property that is fixed to the land it is located on or otherwise deemed immovable. The term applies usually to property rights or articles that are immovable or permanent and come along with the property when it is sold.
When a property is sold, legally, an appurtenance gives the buyer the ownership of certain items that come along with the land. Like, for example, say a tenant builds a water tank in an apartment. The tenant cannot remove this water tank from the property since it would now be considered part of the apartment.
There are various other examples of appurtenances. These include sheds, fences, swimming pools, etc., which are all of a permanent nature and cannot be moved around. The same applies to pieces of land around a house or property such as a backyard. This would be normally called an appurtenance to the house.
An appurtenance also gives the right to possession of any natural resources that are found on the land. This includes oil, minerals, water or improvements made to the property.
