This chapter addresses the questions of what public property is and why it matters. The key to defending public property lies in disambiguating the sense in which this system of rights with respect to external resources is public and, ultimately, about our property. Public property can be said to be ours in the sense that we can freely use it. On this view, held by lawyer economists, democratic egalitarians, and some Kantians, public property is akin to easement rights to enter and use a resource without the leave of its owner. The chapter criticizes proponents of the easement conception, arguing that they cannot but fail to explain why the “publicness” of the resource matters. It demonstrates that easement-like rights are fully consistent with a system of private property.

Instead, the chapter argues that public property’s distinctive value lies in control, rather than use, rights. Public property is ours in the sense that we are entitled to control it. That is, it extends autonomous agency to the construction of public spaces and resources. Public property places individuals in a position of collective self-government, manifested in the following two particular ways: First, expressing the ideas and commitments that the political community as a whole affirms; and second, exerting control over the construction and direction of the resources that make up the environment the individuals occupy.

Chapter 3 focuses on the numerus clausus principle and the limited property rights. It first documents that about a quarter of jurisdictions explicitly adopt this principle, while many others do so implicitly. Chapter 3 argues that this principle is generally efficient. Chapter 3 will also show that property forms such as mortgage (called hypothec in civil law) and real easement are extremely popular.

The law and practice relating to boundaries, easements, and covenants are important to understand. Without such knowledge, you cannot properly inform clients of the limitations of the property they may want to buy, sell, develop, occupy or lease.

The law in relation to boundaries is understood by considering current plans in relation to the parcel of land. However, boundary issues are not necessarily straightforward. The law in relation to land boundaries can be found in Torrens legislation, Crown lands legislation, subdivision legislation, the common law, imperial orders, and legislation of the 19th century. Boundary issues are important to understand especially where your clients’ land boundaries abut watercourses, or the land has a depth or height limitation, or it abuts a road.

In contrast, the law in relation to easements, profits a prendre and freehold covenants is essentially common law based, but different jurisdictions treat the creation, recording, removal and variation of easements, profits a prendre and freehold covenants differently.