Fee simple

In English law, a fee simple is one of the estates in land recognised at common law. A "fee" is a vested, heritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is land held without being subject to a term of years (i.e., indefinitely), and thus a form of freehold ownership. Though freehold, a fee simple may nonetheless be subject to limitations on how the land may be used, such as qualifiers or conditions that disallow certain uses, or subject the vested interest to termination. For example, a condition that requires the land to be used as a public park, with a reversionary interest reserved to the grantor (the person who held the land before) if the condition fails; this is a fee simple conditional.

A fee simple without such limitations is a "fee simple absolute", the amplest form of property ownership (allodial title excepted).

The rights of the owner of a fee simple may still be extrinsically limited, say by government powers of taxation, compulsory purchase, police power, and escheat.

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