Unit 2.10 Paper 1
Future Interests for the RES Exam
Last reviewed 12 October 2026
Unit 2.10 is short but it produces a steady supply of exam questions, because almost all of them turn on one distinction: whether a future interest went back to the grantor or out to a third party. Get that right and the rest of the unit follows.
What a future interest is
A future interest is a present proprietary interest in land whose enjoyment in possession is postponed. The holder owns something now; what they do not have is the immediate right to occupy, or to take the rents and profits. That is why a future interest can be sold, mortgaged or left by will even though nobody can move in yet, and why an exam option saying the holder “has no interest until the life tenant dies” is wrong.
Future interests arise whenever an owner carves a smaller estate out of a larger one and the balance has to go somewhere. Grant a 99-year lease out of a freehold and the balance stays with the landlord. Give land to a mother for life and the balance goes either back to the giver or on to someone named. Those two destinations are the two categories the syllabus asks about: a reversion and a remainder.
Reversion: the interest the grantor keeps
A reversion is what the grantor retains when they grant a lesser estate out of their own. Possession reverts to the grantor, or to the grantor’s estate, when the lesser estate ends. The landlord’s interest during a lease is the standard example: the landlord receives rent now and gets the land back at the end of the term. A reversion is still a future interest even though its owner may be collecting income today.
The same structure appears in the State’s position as lessor. A State lease grants a leasehold estate for a fixed term and the State keeps the reversion, so on expiry the land — together with the buildings on it — reverts to the State, and the lessee is not entitled to compensation. There is no automatic right to a new lease, though the State may at its discretion grant a fresh lease or allow a lease top-up, typically on payment of a premium reflecting the enhancement in value.
Two related points are examined through the law of leases. First, a tenant who parts with less than the whole of their remaining term keeps a reversion, however short, and has granted a sublease; a tenant who transfers the whole remaining term keeps no reversion and has made an assignment, whatever the document is called. Second, where the lease and the reversion come into the same hands in the same capacity, the lesser estate merges into the greater and the lease is extinguished — merger, not surrender or forfeiture.
Remainder: a future interest in a third party
A remainder is a future interest given to someone other than the grantor, taking effect in possession when the prior estate ends. In a gift “to Theresa for life, then to Adrian absolutely”, Theresa has a life estate in possession and Adrian has a remainder; Adrian is the remainderman. Nothing reverts to the grantor, because the grantor has disposed of the whole of their interest.
The test is simply where the interest goes. If the grantor gives a life estate and says nothing about what happens afterwards, the undisposed balance stays with the grantor as a reversion. If the grantor names a third party to take afterwards, that third party has a remainder. The State at the end of a State lease and the landlord during a tenancy hold reversions, never remainders, because in each case the interest returns to the grantor.
Vested and contingent interests
A future interest is vested where the beneficiary is identified and no condition has to be satisfied; it is contingent where it depends on an uncertain event. In a gift “to Rahim for life, then to Faiz if he attains 25”, Faiz has a contingent remainder. Whatever has not been disposed of remains with the grantor, so if Faiz dies before 25 and the instrument makes no further gift, the property returns to the grantor or the grantor’s estate by way of reversion.
Class gifts work the same way. A will leaving property to a widow for life and then to “such of my grandchildren as are then living” gives the grandchildren an interest now, contingent on surviving her. They take nothing from the rent during her lifetime, but their interest exists and the trustees must protect it.
What a life tenant can and cannot do
A life estate lasts only for the measuring life, and the limits on the life tenant produce more exam questions than anything else in the unit. Because nobody can grant more than they have, a life tenant who sells or assigns passes only an interest measured by the original life — an estate pur autre vie, for the life of another — which ends on that person’s death however long the buyer lives. A life tenant cannot convey the fee simple and keep the proceeds.
A life tenant may let the property and take the rent, but a lease they grant ends when the life estate ends and does not bind the person entitled in remainder or reversion. If the life tenant promised a 10-year term and died in year three, the tenant’s remedy is damages against the life tenant’s estate, not a right to stay. The remainderman may of course choose to agree a fresh tenancy, but is not obliged to. Regular acceptance of rent by the life tenant changes nothing.
The life tenant’s interest also ends at death, so there is nothing for their will to pass. And the life tenant must not commit waste — acts that damage or alter the property and injure the interest of the person entitled afterwards.
How future interests appear in exam questions
Most questions give a short grant and ask what the named person holds. Read the grant and ask two questions in order: has a lesser estate been carved out, and who takes what is left? If the answer is “the person who made the grant”, it is a reversion. If it is “someone else”, it is a remainder. A distractor usually offers the opposite label, and another offers “estate pur autre vie” or “tenancy in common”, which are different concepts — the first a life estate measured by another’s life, the second a form of co-ownership.
The second common setting is a trust. Where a will leaves property to trustees to pay the income to a widow for life and then hold it for the grandchildren, the legal estate is in the trustees, who alone can transfer it, while the widow’s equitable interest is limited to the income. If the trustees sell under a power of sale and the proceeds are paid to at least two of them, the beneficial interests are overreached: they shift from the land to the proceeds, and the capital stays intact for the remaindermen.
Terms to know
- Future interest
- A present proprietary interest in land whose enjoyment in possession is postponed.
- Reversion
- The interest a grantor keeps after granting a lesser estate, so that possession returns to the grantor when it ends.
- Remainder
- A future interest given to a third party, taking effect in possession when the prior estate ends.
- Remainderman
- The person entitled to a remainder.
- Vested interest
- A future interest held by an identified person with no condition left to satisfy.
- Contingent interest
- A future interest that takes effect only if an uncertain event happens, such as reaching a stated age.
- Estate pur autre vie
- An estate measured by the life of someone other than its holder, typically created when a life tenant transfers their interest.
- Waste
- Conduct by a person in possession that damages or alters the land and injures the interest of the person entitled afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a reversion and a remainder?
Both are future interests, and the difference is only who takes. A reversion is the interest the grantor retains when they grant a lesser estate, so possession returns to the grantor or the grantor’s estate. A remainder is a future interest given to a third party, taking effect when the prior estate — usually a life estate — comes to an end.
Can a life tenant sell the property?
A life tenant can sell or assign only the interest they hold. The buyer takes an estate pur autre vie, measured by the original life tenant’s life, and that interest ends on that person’s death. The life tenant cannot convey the fee simple, because the interest that follows the life estate belongs to the remainderman or reverter.
Does a tenancy granted by a life tenant bind the remainderman?
No. Nobody can grant more than they hold, so a tenancy granted by a life tenant ends when the life estate ends on the life tenant’s death. The remainderman takes the property free of it and may, but need not, agree a new tenancy with the occupier. The tenant’s claim for the unexpired term lies against the life tenant’s estate.
Who gets the property at the end of a 99-year State lease?
The State, which holds the reversion as lessor. On expiry the land and the buildings on it revert to the State and the lessee is not entitled to compensation. There is no automatic renewal, although the State may at its discretion grant a fresh lease or permit a lease top-up, typically on payment of a premium.
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