The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Property provides both a bird's eye overview of property law and an introduction to how property law affects larger concerns with individual autonomy, personhood, and economic organization. Written by two authorities on property law, this book gives students of property a coherent account of how property law works, with an emphasis on describing the central issues and policy debates. It is designed for law students who want a short and theoretically integrated treatment of the subject, as well as for lawyers who are interested in the conceptual foundations of the law of property.

Table of Contents:
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 The Institution of Property 3 Exclusion and the Bundle of Rights 6 The Thing's the Thing 11 General Justifications, General Concerns 14 Further Reading 20 CHAPTER 2 Original Acquisition and the Scope of Property Claims 21 First Possession 22 Discovery and Creation 28 Accession 35 Adverse Possession 39 Sequential Possession, Finders, and the Relativity of Title 45 The Mosaic of Acquisition Principles 46 Further Reading 47 CHAPTER 3 The Domain of Property 49 The Demsetz Theory 49 Personhood Constraints 57 Inherently Public Property 62 Hybrid Resources 66 Further Reading 71 CHAPTER 4 Owners as Gatekeepers 73 Laws for Owner Protection 74 Self-Help 79 Exceptions to the Right to Exclude 83 Owner Powers 93 Further Reading 103 CHAPTER 5 Dividing Property Rights 105 Estates and Future Interests 105 How the System Works 116 Co-Ownership 126 Marital Interests 131 Further Reading 135 CHAPTER 6 Managing Property 137 Why Separate Management Authority from Other Incidents of Ownership? 139 Leasing 144 Common Interest Communities 160 Trusts 167 Further Reading 171 CHAPTER 7 Land Transactions and Title Records 173 Land Sale Contracts 173 Title Records 181 Mortgages 192 Further Reading 198 CHAPTER 8 Neighbors and Neighborhood Effects 199 The Coase Theorem 201 Tort Liability: Nuisance 208 Modification of Property Rights: Easements 217 Contract: Covenants Running with the Land 225 Further Reading 240 CHAPTER 9 Government Forbearance 243 The General Form of the Problem 244 Sources of Forbearance 249 The Rule of Law. 253 Explicit Takings 262 Regulatory Takings 272 Further Reading 280