Landholding

Landholding is the possession or control of land by an individual or entity. It encompasses the rights to use, develop, sell, lease, or exclude others from the land, and is governed by a framework of property law that varies by country. Rights may be held privately, communally, publicly, or in hybrid forms.

Common forms of landholding include freehold or fee simple ownership; leasehold arrangements; and forms of co-ownership such as joint tenancy or tenancy in common. In many regions, land is also held under communal or customary tenure by families or communities, and by states or municipalities as public land.

The legal basis for landholding typically rests on titles, deeds, or certificates recorded in a land registry. These instruments define boundaries, rights, restrictions, and encumbrances such as easements or mortgages, and enable transfers through sale, inheritance, or donation. Zoning and land-use planning regulate how land may be used.

Historically, landholding patterns have shaped social hierarchy and economic production. Movements such as enclosures and land reform redistributed land ownership and altered agricultural and urban development. In contemporary economies, land is a major asset influencing productivity, investment, housing, and wealth distribution.

Current issues include tenure security, urbanization-driven land pressures, rural poverty, land reform policies, and disputes over boundaries and compensation in development projects. Markets for land, housing, and land-based collateral interact with taxation, banking, and investment regimes, while sustainable management and indigenous or customary rights are increasingly recognized.