Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Ownership definition

What does Ownership mean? In legal practice, ownership describes who has the bundle of rights over property: to possess, use, enjoy income, exclude others, transfer, or charge it, subject to law and third‑party rights (such as easements/servitudes, leases and security interests). It is a descriptive expression used across contexts (land, goods, shares, intellectual property), rather than a single statutory definition, though related concepts are defined in legislation and case law (for example, beneficial ownership in anti‑money laundering/PSC regimes and land registration rules). Across England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, lawyers commonly distinguish legal ownership (title shown on a register, deed or share register) from...

Extinguishing easements by unity of seisin (ownership): leases, charges, merger, implied easements and HM Land Registry procedure (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Property expert

Practice notes

There are several different ways an easement may terminate, and this Practice Note concentrates mainly on unity of seisin, also referred to as unity of Ownership, for the purposes of this discussion. For other circumstances in which an easement might be extinguished, consider:

Abandonment—please see Practice Note: Easements lost by abandonment
express agreement—for example, please see Precedent: Deed of release of easement
statute—for example, please see Practice Note: Section 203 powers—interference with rights for development purposes
the carrying out of works required by a statutory order that further render the easement incapable of exercise, or
the lawful removal of the structure over which the easement is enjoyed

See further guidance: General: Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents [1190].

Unity of seisin

Unity of ownership

Unity of seisin (in modern terms, unity of ownership) is where the ownership of the freehold interest in both the dominant and servient tenements comes into the ownership and possession of the same person. This aligns with the principle that it is not possible to have an easement over one’s own land. It is generally accepted that for an easement to be extinguished by unity of ownership, the ownership in question must be for an estate in...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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