Legal Definitions - parcel

A parcel, in legal and real estate contexts, refers to a specific, identifiable unit of land. It is a distinct tract or plot of real estate, often defined by boundaries and recorded in public records, that can be owned, bought, sold, or developed as a single entity.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a parcel:

• Imagine a family purchasing a new home. The house itself, along with its front and back yards, is situated on a specific parcel of land. This parcel is precisely defined by its legal description and property lines on a survey, distinguishing it from neighboring properties. When the family buys the home, they are legally acquiring ownership of this particular parcel of real estate.

• A real estate developer plans to construct a large shopping center. To achieve this, the developer might need to acquire several adjacent pieces of land from different owners. Each of these individual pieces of land, with its own legal description and ownership history, is considered a distinct parcel. The developer must complete separate transactions to purchase each parcel before combining them for the larger development project.

• A local government decides to expand a public library. They identify an undeveloped area next to the existing building that is currently owned by a private individual. This specific piece of land, with its own boundaries and legal identification, is a parcel. The government would then negotiate to purchase this particular parcel to build the library extension.