Tangible property

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title: "Tangible property" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["property-law", "legal-terminology"] description: "Legal term for anything which has physical substance" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangible_property" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Legal term for anything which has physical substance ::

In law, tangible property is property that can be touched, and includes both real property and personal property (or moveable property), and stands in distinction to intangible property.

In English law and some Commonwealth legal systems, items of tangible property are referred to as choses in possession (or a chose in possession in the singular). However, some property, despite being physical in nature, is classified in many legal systems as intangible property rather than tangible property because the rights associated with the physical item are of far greater significance than the physical properties. Principally, these are documentary intangibles. For example, a promissory note is a piece of paper that can be touched, but the real significance is not the physical paper, but the legal rights which the paper confers, and hence the promissory note is defined by the legal debt rather than the physical attributes. |url = http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/08D0486P.pdf |title = R&L ZOOK, INC., d/b/a, t/a, aka UNITED CHECK CASHING COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. PACIFIC INDEMNITY COMPANY, Defendant. |author = Hon. Giles, J. |date = May 1, 2008 |work = paed.uscourts.gov |publisher = United States District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania |location = Philadelphia, PA |page = 6 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081005073251/http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/08D0486P.pdf |archive-date = 2008-10-05 |url-status = live |access-date = 2011-07-11

A unique category of property is money, which in some legal systems is treated as tangible property and in others as intangible property. Whilst most countries legal tender is expressed in the form of intangible property ("The Treasury of Country X hereby promises to pay to the bearer on demand...."), in practice banknotes are now rarely ever redeemed in any country, which has led to banknotes and coins being classified as tangible property in most modern legal systems.

Owning tangible property: rights and responsibilities

As a tangible property owner, certain rights and responsibilities come with the territory. The right to use, occupy, sell, rent, mortgage, or give away your property is present. Changes can also be made like renovating, rebuilding or developing the property. These rights are not limitless, however, as local regulations like building codes, zoning laws, and homeowner’s association rules still apply.

• Use: Live in, operate a business, store belongings, etc.
• Occupy: Control access and physically be on the property.
• Sell: Transfer ownership to a buyer for a price.
• Rent: Allow others to occupy the property in exchange for rent payments.
• Mortgage: Use the property as collateral for a loan. The lender can foreclose if you default.
• Modify: Renovate, rebuild, improve or develop the property. Permits and inspections may be required. --

References

fr:Tangible ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::