A land owner’s right to privacy of his land includes the air or space
above the land itself. If a neighbor builds a structure where the roof or part of the roof
extends onto the airspace of his neighbor, if this intrusion actually ousts P from his land,
the neighbor may be liable for ejectment. However, if the intrusion merely infringes on
P’s enjoyment of his land, nuisance would be the correct cause of action. In this case, the
court determined that the structure was an ouster of property rights, and therefore D must
be ejected.
Air rights- different from airspace because airspace can be transferred to someone other
than a surface owner, but cannot be moved. Air rights are used to benefit other parcels of
land. A landowner seeking to preserve his view from his land can acquire an easement
across neighboring property that prevents its owner from building in a way that interferes
with the view
TDR’s- permit an owner of adjoining parcels of lands to transfer development rights from
one parcel to the other. Ex. owner owns two parcels of land that allow 10 story buildings
on each. If he builds a two story on one parcel, he can build an 18 story building on the
other.