In English law, a
fee simple or
fee simple absolute is an
estate in land, a form of
freehold ownership. It is a way that
real estate may be owned in
common law countries, and is the highest possible ownership interest that can be had in
real property.
Allodial title is reserved to governments under a civil law structure. The rights of the fee simple owner are limited by government powers of
taxation,
compulsory purchase, police power, and
escheat, and it could also be limited further by certain
encumbrances or conditions in the
deed, such as, for example, a condition that required the land to be used as a public park, with a
reversion interest in the grantor if the condition fails; this is a
fee simple conditional.