The illegality of murder or practicing quack medicine are examples of the government imposing restrictions on personal ACTIONS.
That’s different from real property.
The building permit, fire marshal inspection, setbacks, right-of-way, utilities, yadda yadda yadda, are possible because at one time, the property owners (meaning the voters) waived those rights in order to achieve Statehood or incorporation.
There’s a slight difference between the two.
~VOW
I don’t know what jurisdiction you are referring to but the general rule is when a parcel of land is sold it includes all the mineral rights, unless specifically excluded.
This is not entirely accurate. Owners don’t grant a municipality zoning regulations. Zoning regulations are determined by the city council (or whatever political body a municipality has to enact regulations). A municipality has this power under its police powers. A municipality will publish a notice concerning any proposed changes to zoning, use, etc.
The Indians don’t have special rights per se. The fact that land was once owned or is now owned by Indians is not relevant. The reason Indian reservations are different is that they’re not subject to the land-use regulations imposed by county governments. They are separate nations, who promulgate their own land-use regulations.
I’m going to stick my neck out with a WAG and say lots in most subdivisions or parcel maps do NOT include mineral rights. If a person wants to buy an entire section (640 acres) in the middle of Wyoming, perhaps the mineral rights would still be available with the land. Speculators and mining companies did a bang up job of sweeping the United States years ago, buying up mineral rights, and hung onto them with hopes that one day, SOMETHING would be found. It was a cheap investment for them: they could hold onto the mineral rights forever, waiting for the right moment.
I didn’t word my response correctly. I gave a Reader’s Digest condensed version of how a municipality obtains its authority. The property owners (voters) approve the incorporation of the municipality. Then the municipality, by the authority of its operation for the greater good, will enact laws and ordinances for the public good. Zoning and permits fall into this category. What many do not realize is that the requirement of permits to do just about anything isn’t necessarily a law to protect people from shoddy workmanship. Permits are a DANDY way for a city or a county to RAISE MONEY.
~VOW
I think you’re wrong. I think it’s very uncommon for ordinary residential building lots to not include the mineral rights. Homeowners all over the Ft. Worth area have been busily selling the mineral rights under their subdivisions since the Barnett Shale natural gas formation was discovered a decade ago. These are subdivisions created since 1980—in Texas.
To Mr Downtown:
I’ll qualify my statement and say at least in my experience with California, most lots do not include mineral rights.
Here’s what to look for:
Unless you are talking a small parcel map, two or three lots or so, most subdivisions are several pages of maps, showing all the lots, the streets, corner monuments, distances and bearings. The first sheet of this stack of pages has a lot of written stuff, with signatures of the owners, the developers, the president, vice president, and secretary of the corporation, the acceptance by the Board of Supervisors, and so forth.
There will also be an accounting of any recorded maps used in the design of the subdivision. There will be a description of any easements, and a dedication of streets to the public right-of-way.
And there will usually be a statement that mineral rights have been excluded from the lots.
~VOW
Precisely. “Mineral rights have been excluded from the lots.” They have been specifically excluded. If not specifically excluded, they are included. Most deeds will contain language such as “including all appurtenances thereunto belonging,” which include mineral rights and rights, if any, to adjoining public ways.
Land can be described as “a bundle of rights” (I was taught “a bundle of sticks”), but that bundle goes with the land unless you specifically state otherwise, such as conveying air rights, underground mineral rights, life estates, etc.
If one of the sticks in your bundle was sold off a while back, a more recent deed cannot replace the stick in the bundle again.
My take on that is: unless your deed specifically includes mineral rights or water rights, don’t expect it unless you have it verified by title insurance or your own personal research.
Access easements are another painful thorn. It often takes a lot of tiptoeing through the microfiche to determine who owns what, and how.
~VOW
Of course you have to have a search of the title before you buy the land. Only a complete idiot would not do that, preferably by a title company. Even if the deed purports to contain the mineral rights, if the seller did not have title to the mineral rights, neither will you. I think you are beating a dead horse here.
Can you provide a cite or other source explaining this in more detail?
And what, exactly is the dividing point between laws regulating actions and those regulating real estate (which you say need some prior ceding of rights by property owners)? For instance, what about health codes for restaurants? Environmental regulations about industrial activities? Or regulations about renovating asbestos or lead-containing residences? Municipal noise regulations?
Real property is land, and everything attached to it. It just sits there and exists as land.
It differs from personal property, in that personal property can be moved.
The actions of people are another matter entirely.
Health codes for restaurants are governed by the PERMITS that people are required to obtain before opening a restaurant. Industrial activity is governed by zoning and permits.
But the land will always be the land. The attachments to the land (houses, manufacturing plants, restaurants) may change over the years. The governing jurisdiction where that land is located determines any changes to a structure, and the use of the land. But the land itself is perpetual.
Each piece of land in the United States has its own detailed, specific description that describes ONLY that piece of land. It can be divided or merged with other pieces, but there are even specific laws as to how THAT can be accomplished.
Real property is merely one branch of law, and you can spend years studying just that. Because of the complexity, it’s often recommended that you don’t try to untangle any conflicts on your own, but seek the advice of a real estate attorney or licensed land surveyor. A real estate agent can be a source of information, but he or she may not know the actual law or interpretation of the law. And you’ll find that title insurance is often required when obtaining a mortgage. The title insurance will find any liens or clouds on the property which can impact the use and enjoyment of the land.
I retired after twenty years with Surveys and Right of Way Engineering at the State of California Department of Transportation. I researched deeds, I wrote deeds, and I taught others how to read and write deeds. So I do have some familiarity with the topic.
~VOW