Waste in United States

Waste Definition

Lasting and wrongful injury by the holder of a particular estate to the detriment of the holder of the reversion or remainder. To constitute waste, the injury must be wrongful (3 Sup. Ct. N. Y. 60), by the ten, ant, or through his fault (2 Minor, Inst. p. the inheritance (1 Washb. Real Prop. 147). What constitutes waste in a particular case is a question of fact. 22 N. J. Law, 521. Waste is distinguished from trespass in that the latter is the act of a stranger, while waste is the act of a tenant. It is distinguished from devastavit, which is waste by an executor or administrator.
(1) Permissive waste consists in the mere neglect or omission to do what will prevent injury (69 Mich. 259), as, to suffer a house to go to decay for the want of repair. And it may be incurred in respect to the soil, as well as to the buildings, trees, fences, or live stock on the premises. See Permissive Waste.
(2) Voluntary waste consists in the commission of some destructive act; as, in pulling down a house, or ploughing up a flower garden. 1 Paige, Ch. (N. Y.) 573.
(3) Equitable waste is such injury to the inheritance as is within the legal right of the tenant, but which a man of ordinary prudence would not commit in the management of his own property. 29 Law J. Ch. 598.
(4) Meliorating waste is that which increases the present value of the estate, but damages the inheritance by charging it with added burden, as by improvement, the unpaid cost whereof is a lien.

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Legal Issue for Attorneys

Lasting and wrongful injury by the holder of a particular estate to the detriment of the holder of the reversion or remainder. To constitute waste, the injury must be wrongful (3 Sup. Ct. N. Y. 60), by the ten, ant, or through his fault (2 Minor, Inst. p. the inheritance (1 Washb. Real Prop. 147). What constitutes waste in a particular case is a question of fact. 22 N. J. Law, 521. Waste is distinguished from trespass in that the latter is the act of a stranger, while waste is the act of a tenant. It is distinguished from devastavit, which is waste by an executor or administrator.
(1) Permissive waste consists in the mere neglect or omission to do what will prevent injury (69 Mich. 259), as, to suffer a house to go to decay for the want of repair. And it may be incurred in respect to the soil, as well as to the buildings, trees, fences, or live stock on the premises. See Permissive Waste.
(2) Voluntary waste consists in the commission of some destructive act; as, in pulling down a house, or ploughing up a flower garden. 1 Paige, Ch. (N. Y.) 573.
(3) Equitable waste is such injury to the inheritance as is within the legal right of the tenant, but which a man of ordinary prudence would not commit in the management of his own property. 29 Law J. Ch. 598.
(4) Meliorating waste is that which increases the present value of the estate, but damages the inheritance by charging it with added burden, as by improvement, the unpaid cost whereof is a lien.

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This definition of Waste Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This definition needs to be proofread..

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

Generally, an act by someone in possession of land, but who has less than absolute ownership of it. The act in question decreases the value of the land or the owner’s interest in the land.

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Waste?

For a meaning of it, read Waste in the Legal Dictionary here. Browse and search more U.S. and international free legal definitions and legal terms related to Waste.

Waste, Pollution, and the Constitution

United States Constitution

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, about its article titled WASTE, POLLUTION, AND THE CONSTITUTIONThe rise of environmental consciousness since the early 1970s has made solid waste disposal through recycling an important issue of public policy. The disposal of solid wastes raises interstate issues as some states find it difficult to use local landfills for
(read more about Constitutional law entries here).

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