Inreal estate, aland lot orplot of land is a tract orparcel of land owned or meant to be owned by someowner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel ofreal property in some countries orimmovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in other countries. Possible owners of a plot can be one or morepersons or another legal entity, such as a company,corporation,organization,government, ortrust. A common form of ownership of a plot is calledfee simple in some countries.
A small area of land that is empty except for a paved surface or similar improvement, typically all used for the same purpose or in the same state is also often called a plot.[1] Examples are a pavedcar park or a cultivated garden plot. This article covers plots (more commonly called lots in some countries) as defined parcels of land meant to be owned as units by an owner(s).
Like most other types of property, lots or plots owned by private parties are subject to a periodicproperty tax payable by the owners to local governments such as a county ormunicipality. These real estate taxes are based on the assessed value of the real property; additional taxes usually apply to transfer of ownership and property sales. Other fees by government are possible for improvements such as curbs and pavements or animpact fee for building a house on a vacant plot. Property owners in theUnited States and various other countries are also subject tozoning and other restrictions. These restrictions include building height limits, restrictions onarchitectural style of buildings and other structures, setback laws, etc.
InNew Zealand land lots are generally described as sections.
A lot has defined boundaries (or borders) which are documented somewhere, but the boundaries need not be shown on the land itself. Most lots are small enough to bemapped as if they are flat, in spite of thecurvature of the Earth. A characteristic of the size of a lot is itsarea. The area is typically determined as if the land is flat and level, although the terrain of the lot may not be flat, i. e, the lot may be hilly. The contoursurface area of the land is changeable and may be too complicated for determining a lot's area.
Lots can come in various sizes and shapes. To be considered a single lot, the land described as the "lot" must be contiguous. Two separate parcels are considered two lots, not one. Often a lot is sized for a singlehouse or other building. Many lots are rectangular in shape, although other shapes are possible as long as the boundaries are well-defined. Methods ofdetermining or documenting the boundaries of lots includemetes and bounds,quadrant method, and use of aplat diagram. Use of the metes and bounds method may be compared to drawing apolygon. Metes are points which are like the vertices (corners) of a polygon. Bounds areline segments between two adjacent metes. Bounds are usually straight lines, but can be curved as long as they are clearly defined.
When the boundaries of a lot are not indicated on the lot, asurvey of the lot can be made to determine where the boundaries are according to the lot descriptions or plat diagrams. Formal surveys are done by qualifiedsurveyors, who can make a diagram or map of the lot showing boundaries, dimensions, and the locations of any structures such as buildings, etc. Such surveys are also used to determine if there are anyencroachments to the lot. Surveyors can sometimes place posts at the metes of a lot.
The part of the boundary of the lot next to a street or road is the frontage. Developers try to provide at least one side of frontage for every lot, so owners can have transport access to their lots. As the name implies, street frontage determines which side of the lot is the front, with the opposite side being the back. If the lot area is known, from the deed, then the frontage line can be calculated as depth by measuring the width (as area divided by width = depth). Sometimes minor, usually unnamed driveways calledalleys, usually publicly owned, also provide access to the back of a lot. When alleys are present,garages are often located in back of a lot with access from the alley. Also when there are alleys, garbage collection may take place from the alley. Lots at the corners of a block have two sides of frontage and are called corner lots. Corner lots may have the advantage that a garage can be built with street access from the side, but have the disadvantage that there is more parkwaylawn to mow and more pavement to shovel snow from. In areas with large blocks, homes are sometimes built in the center of the block. In this situation, the lot will usually include a long driveway to provide transport access. Because the shape is reminiscent of a flag (the home) on a flag pole (the driveway), these lots are called flag lots.
Local governments often passzoning laws which control what buildings can be built on a lot and what they can be used for. For example, certain areas are zoned for residential buildings such as houses.[2] Other areas can be commercially, agriculturally, or industrially zoned. Sometimes zoning laws establish other restrictions, such as a minimum lot area and/or frontage length for building a house or other building, maximum building size, or minimumsetbacks from a lot boundary for building a structure. This is in addition tobuilding codes which must be met. Also, minimum lot sizes and separations must be met whenwells andseptic systems are used. In urban areas,sewers and water lines often provide service to households. There may also be restrictions based oncovenants established by private parties such as thereal estate developer. There may beeasements forutilities to run water, sewage,electric power, ortelephone lines through a lot.
Something which is meant to improve the value or usefulness of a lot can be called anappurtenance to the lot. Structures such asbuildings,driveways,pavements, patios or other surfaces,wells,septic systems, signs, and similar improvements which are considered permanently attached to the land in the lot are considered to be real property, usually part of the lot but often parts of a building, such ascondominiums, are owned separately. Such structures owned by the lot owner(s), as well as easements which help the lot owners or users, can be considered appurtenances to the lot. A lot without such structures can be called a vacant lot, urban prairie, spare ground, an empty lot, or an unimproved or undeveloped lot.
Many developers divide a large tract of land into lots as asubdivision. Certain areas of the land are dedicated (given to local government for permanent upkeep) asstreets and sometimesalleys for transport and access to lots. Areas between the streets are divided up into lots to be sold to future owners. The layout of the lots ismapped on a plat diagram, which is recorded with the government, typically thecountyrecorder's office. Theblocks between streets and the individual lots in each block are given an identifier, usually a number or letter.
Land originally granted by the government was commonly done by documents calledland patents. Lots of land can be sold/bought by the owners or conveyed in other ways. Suchconveyances are made by documents calleddeeds which should be recorded by the government, typically the county recorder's office. Deeds specify the lot by including adescription such as one determined by the "metes and bounds" or quadrant methods, or referring to a lot number and block number in a recorded plat diagram. Deeds often mention that appurtenances to the lot are included in order to convey any structures and other improvements also.
In front of many lots in urban areas, there arepavements, usually publicly owned. Beyond the pavement, there may sometimes be a strip of land called aroad verge, and then theroadway, being the driveable part of theroad.
Queen Street inToronto was referred to as Lot Street before 1837 as it was used by British surveyors to mark park lots of important land owners inYork, Upper Canada.
