Corporeal parts of land are the tangible ones
A worked RES examination question on meaning and extent of land, from our Paper 1 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
An agent is explaining to a buyer that land in law is made up of two kinds of thing: those that can be seen and touched, and those that cannot but are still part of the land. To test whether the buyer has followed him, he offers two examples and asks the buyer to place each in the right category. The first is the building that stands on the plot. The second is a right of way that runs across the plot for the benefit of a neighbour, which cannot be seen or handled but travels with the land nonetheless.
Which statement is correct?
The answer, and why
Answer: C
The rule. Corporeal parts of land are the tangible ones — buildings, trees, soil. Incorporeal parts are the intangible ones that are still part of the land — airspace, subterranean space, and easements such as a right of way.
Why C is correct. The building is corporeal; the right of way is incorporeal.
The other options.
- A makes the right of way corporeal.
- B reverses the two.
- D denies that either is part of the land, when both are.
Exam note. Both are "part of the land". The split is tangible against intangible, not part-of-land against not.
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