Definition of "Alienation"

The definition of alienation in real estate stands for the legal action that is done voluntarily by an owner to dispose of their property. It also encompasses a property’s right to be sold or given to someone else. Most of the properties can be alienated but there are some that are under the influence of restraint of alienation.

The status or authority of a property to be alienated is specified in a contract in something that is called an alienation clause. Through an alienation clause, it can be stipulated whether or not a property can be sold or transferred to another owner. The alienation clause is the situation in which alienation as a concept is implemented through law. The term “alienation” has a long history but it is commonly used today in real estate contracts, mortgages, insurance policies, law, and wills.

The History of Alienation

In the old age of the feudal system in England, a system that was the beginning of modern-day alienation was known as subinfeudation. As the act of alienation today, subinfeudation required the license of the overlord, in other words, the blessing of the owner, for the property to be transferred and alienated to another.

And like nowadays, there are some items, objects or … let’s call them assets that can not be alienated. These assets are known as inalienable. Some examples of these are body parts, people, or aboriginal titles. Tickets or licenses also can not be given to someone else but they can be alienated in the sense that they are discarded, surrendered, or just disposed of.

Not to be confused with that 90’s movie/TV series “ Alien Nation”.

An alien is something foreign that does not belong to that place or person. So, in the real estate world, alienation is the voluntary and purposeful act of transferring an asset to a different party, making it no longer belonging to that person or place. Once an alienation is done, the titles of possession are transferred from one person to another.

Real Estate tips:

Don't let knowledge become a foreign concept to you! Search through our Glossary Terms and get up to speed with all these complex terms!

And once you're ready to play: find an agent and start putting that knowledge to work!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

When you hear a real estate agent talking about a client that's an empty nester, it means said client suffers from empty nest syndrome. But what is Empty nest syndrome? Empty nest ...

Federal government agency monitoring and regulating corporate financial reporting and disclosure, use of accounting principles, auditing practices, and trading activities. Its regulations ...

Latin: now for then. Descriptive of actions which are performed after a deadline has elapsed, but retroactively have the same effect as if they were carried out in a timely manner. For ...

Loose combination of small rocks and pebbles used for a gutter, driveway, landscaping, or roadbed. ...

Company formed for the purpose of owning securities of one or more real estate corporations and assuming control over their practices and management. The other corporations are generally ...

A method of brick construction where the bricks are laid with their sides facing outward. ...

Amount received by a seller of real property in the form of credit rather than cash. Interest is typically received on the note. If a house is sold for $300,000 of which $100,000 is cash ...

Economic principle determining the market prices of goods, services, and property. The principle states there is a pricing relationship between supply and demand for real property. Economic ...

The Asset Depreciation Range (ADR) was introduced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 1971. It was designed to help businesses determine how long to use certain assets, like equipment ...

Popular Real Estate Questions