Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad

inferos
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At common law, property owners held title to all resources located above, below, or upon their land

Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos (Latin for "whoever's is the soil, it is
theirs all the way to Heaven and all the way to hell")[1] is a principle of property law, stating that
property holders have rights not only to the plot of land itself, but also to the air above and (in the
broader formulation) the ground below. The principle is often referred to in its abbreviated form as
the ad coelum doctrine.[2]
In modern law, this principle is still accepted in limited form, and the rights are divided into air
rights above and subsurface rights below. Property title includes to the space immediately above
and below the ground preventing overhanging parts of neighboring buildings but do not have
rights to control flights far above the ground or in space. In dense urban areas, air rights may be
transferable (see transferable development rights) to allow construction of new buildings over
existing buildings.
Early versions of the maxim have been traced to the 13th-century Italian jurist Accursius, and is said
to date in common law to the time of Edward I. It was more recently promulgated, in broad form (air
above and ground below) by William Blackstone in his influential treatise Commentaries on the Laws
of England (1766).

Contents
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1Applications
2Origins
3Modern history
4See also
5External links
6References