Kovats Real Estate School Practice Test

What type of land ownership grants rights to the surface rights, but not necessarily to the minerals beneath?

1. Fee simple

2. Life estate

3. Leasehold

4. Subsurface rights

The correct answer is: Fee simple

The type of land ownership that grants rights to the surface but not necessarily to the minerals beneath is fee simple. Fee simple is the most complete form of ownership in real estate, allowing the owner full control over the property’s use, including the surface land. However, it is possible that the mineral rights have been severed from the surface rights through a previous transaction or agreement, which means while the owner has ownership over the surface, they may not have ownership of what lies beneath the ground, such as oil, gas, or minerals. In these cases, the surface estate and the mineral estate can be owned by different entities, with the surface owner having rights only to the land above. Other types of ownership, such as leasehold or life estates, come with different limitations or durations that do not specifically address the distinction between surface and mineral rights. Subsurface rights refer specifically to the rights to extract or use resources beneath the surface but do not pertain to ownership types. Therefore, fee simple is indeed the ownership type in question that relates specifically to the surface rights while potentially excluding subsurface rights.