“Fee simple” is permanent and absolute tenure in land with freedom to dispose of it at will. It is a freehold tenure, which is the main type of land ownership. In British Columbia (and more broadly in Canadian law) it’s the most complete form of private ownership of land.
What this means, how it works under BC law, and what limitations and conditions attach to it?
What “fee simple” means
- A fee simple estate is an interest in land of indefinite duration — there is no fixed end date. The owner can hold it, sell it, lease it, will it or pass it to heirs.
- The owner in fee simple holds the “whole bundle of rights” in that land — subject only to the usual legal encumbrances like zoning, building bylaws, registered rights (easements, charges), and the rights of the Crown (such as taxation) etc.
- In BC, under the Land Title Act and the system of registration maintained by the Land Title & Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA), title in fee simple is registrable. For example, the Act states that if someone is registered as owner in fee simple, that fact is “conclusive evidence … that the person … is entitled to an estate in fee simple”.