Ownership rights to subsurface minerals, oil, and gas, which can be severed and owned separately from surface rights.
Why Mineral Rights matters on the exam
This term belongs to Property Ownership. The questions below are real items from Freehold's bank that use it - each one cites its source.
Exam questions using Mineral Rights
Every Freehold question shows why the right answer is right — and cites its source.
A downtown skyscraper is built directly above active railroad tracks using structural supports that don't disturb rail operations below. This is a practical application of:
Air rights
Riparian rights
Mineral rights
Littoral rights
Show answer & explanation
Air rights — Air rights can be severed from the surface and subsurface estates and developed independently, as illustrated by buildings constructed above railroad tracks or highways using the airspace as a distinct property interest.
Source: PSI National Real Estate Exam Content Outline §1 Property Ownership
When a landowner sells the mineral rights to their property but keeps the surface rights, the buyer of the mineral rights typically acquires:
Ownership of the entire parcel, including the surface, since mineral rights cannot legally be severed from surface rights
A severed subsurface estate, including the right to extract minerals and reasonable access to do so
No enforceable property interest in the land
Only the right to view geological survey reports prepared by the state, with no right to extract or sell any minerals
Show answer & explanation
A severed subsurface estate, including the right to extract minerals and reasonable access to do so — Mineral rights can be severed from surface rights and conveyed separately, creating a subsurface estate that generally includes the right to enter and extract the minerals, subject to reasonable accommodation of the surface owner.
Source: PSI National Real Estate Exam Content Outline §1 Property Ownership
A deed that conveys 'surface rights only, reserving all oil, gas, and mineral rights to the grantor' results in:
The buyer owning the complete, unencumbered fee simple estate
An invalid conveyance, since mineral rights can never be reserved
A severance of the estate, in which the buyer owns the surface and the seller retains a separate mineral estate
The buyer automatically receiving mineral rights along with the surface
Show answer & explanation
A severance of the estate, in which the buyer owns the surface and the seller retains a separate mineral estate — Real property can be divided vertically into surface and subsurface estates; reserving mineral rights in the deed severs the mineral estate, which the grantor retains even though the surface transfers to the buyer.
Source: PSI National Real Estate Exam Content Outline §1 Property Ownership
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