property

air rights

Air rights are the owner's rights to use, control, or sell the space above the surface of the land, up to a reasonable height. They are part of the bundle of rights that comes with real property. Air rights can be sold or leased separately from the land, which is common in dense cities for building over railways or for transferring development potential. Aircraft overflight at normal altitudes is generally allowed.

Exam tip
Exams test that real property includes the surface, subsurface (mineral rights), and air above, and that each can be separated and sold independently.
Example
A railroad owns land in a downtown area and sells the air rights above its tracks to a developer who builds an office tower on a platform over the rails.

Related terms & state variants

Sources

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Last verified: 2026-10-23