Option (law)
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Property law |
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Part of the common law series |
Acquisition of property |
Gift · Adverse possession · Deed |
Lost, mislaid, or abandoned |
Treasure trove |
Alienation · Bailment · License |
Estates in land |
Allodial title · Fee simple · Fee tail |
Life estate · Defeasible estate |
Future interest · Concurrent estate |
Leasehold estate · Condominiums |
Conveyancing of interests in land |
Bona fide purchaser |
Torrens title · Strata title |
Estoppel by deed · Quitclaim deed |
Mortgage · Equitable conversion |
Action to quiet title |
Limiting control over future use |
Restraint on alienation |
Rule against perpetuities |
Rule in Shelley's Case |
Doctrine of worthier title |
Nonpossessory interest in land |
Easement · Profit |
Covenant running with the land |
Equitable servitude |
Related topics |
Fixtures · Waste · Partition |
Riparian water rights |
Lateral and subjacent support |
Assignment · Nemo dat |
Other areas of the common law |
Contract law · Tort law |
Wills and trusts |
Criminal Law · Evidence |
This article is about options as a legal concept. For other uses of options, see Option (disambiguation).
In law, an option is the right to convey a piece of property. The person granting the option is called the optionor (or more usually, just the grantor) and the person who has the benefit of the option is called the optionee (or more usually, just the beneficiary).
Options characteristically exist in one of two forms:
- Call options, which give the beneficiary the right to require the grantor to sell or convey the property to them at the agreed price on exercise
- Put options, which give the beneficiary the right to require the grantor to buy or receive the property at the agreed price on exercise.
Because options amount to dispositions of future property, in common law countries they are normally subject to the rule against perpetuities and must be exercised within the time limits prescribed by law.
In relation to certain types of asset (principally land), in many countries an option must be registered in order to be binding on a third party.