Occupancy - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition occupancy

Definition :

Occupancy, mere possession or use either by agreement or otherwise without other claim (if any) to the ownership or enjoyment of property, also taking possession of land to which no one else lays claim or without leave of the owner.

The right of occupancy has been confined by the laws of England within a very narrow compass, e.g., where a person was tenant pur autre vie, or had an estate granted to himself only (without mentioning his heirs) for the life of another man, and died without alienation, during the life of the cestui que vie, or him by whose life it was holden; in this case, he that entered first on the land was called the occupant or common occupant and might lawfully retain the possession so long as the cestui que vie lived, by right of occupancy, see Re Michell, Moore v. Moore, (1892) 2 Ch 96. The title of common occupancy is now, in effect abolished, for it is enacted by the Wills Act, 1837, s. 3, that an estate pur autre vie, of whatever tenure, and whether it be an incorporeal or corporeal hereditament, may in all cases be devised by will, and, by s. 6, that if no disposition by will be made of an estate pur autre vie of a freehold nature, it shall be chargeable in the hands of the heir or special occupant if it comes to him by reason of special occupancy of an estate of inheritance pur autre vie (q.v.) as assets by descent (as in the case of freehold land, in fee-simple); and should there be no special occupant of any estate pur autre vie, it shall go to the executor or administrator of the party that had the estate by virtue of the grant; and in every case where it comes to the hands of such personal representative, shall be assets in his hands, to be applied and distributed in the same manner as personal estate.

This law was in force until 1926, s. 45 of the (English) Administration of Estates Act, 1925, having abolished special occupancy among all other the existing rules of descent of legal estate in land. See AUTRE VIE.

A property in goods and chattels may be acquired by occupancy, for--

(1) It has been said that anybody authorized by the Crown may seize to his own use such goods as belong to an alien enemy.

(2) All persons may, on their own lands, or in the seas, generally exercise the right to pursue and take any fowl or insect of the air, any fish or inhabitant of the waters, and any beast or reptile of the field. The exceptions to this right are royal fish, such as whales, sturgeons, etc., animals of forest, chase, or free warren, fish belonging to a 'several' or 'free' fishery.

(3) Property arising from accession. See ACCESSION, PROPERTY BY.

(4) Property arising from confusion. See CONFU-SION, PROPERTY BY.

As to title by occupancy of States to territory, see Hall, Int. Law, Ch. II., and generally see 2 Bl. Com., pp. 258, 400, and POSSESSION