1.4 Legal Descriptions: Metes and Bounds, Lot and Block, & Rectangular Survey Principles
Key Takeaways
- A legal description must be legally sufficient to identify a single, specific parcel of land on the earth's surface to the exclusion of all others.
- Metes and bounds is the oldest system and the primary method utilized in New Jersey, beginning at a Point of Beginning (POB) and closing back at the POB.
- Lot and block (recorded plat) systems reference recorded subdivision maps and are tied directly to municipal tax map identifiers throughout New Jersey.
- The Rectangular (Government) Survey System uses principal meridians, base lines, 36-square-mile townships, and 36 sections of 640 acres each.
- Elevations and vertical air rights are measured against established reference datums and permanent physical benchmarks.
A street address (such as 123 Main Street, Cherry Hill, NJ) is merely a postal delivery convention. Because street names change, house numbers shift, and municipal boundaries are adjusted over time, a street address is legally inadequate to convey title or record a mortgage. Real estate contracts, deeds, and mortgages require a legally sufficient description—defined as a description that allows an independent licensed professional surveyor to locate the exact physical boundaries of the parcel on the earth's surface.
The Three Major Survey Systems
In American real property law, three major systems are used to construct legal descriptions:
- Metes and Bounds: Primary system in the original 13 colonial states, including New Jersey.
- Lot and Block (Recorded Plat): Prevalent in suburban residential subdivisions and urban developments nationwide.
- Rectangular (Government) Survey System: Utilized across 30 public domain states in the Midwest, West, and South.
Metes and Bounds System
The metes and bounds system is the oldest land surveying method in the United States. It describes property by tracing its perimeter boundaries through distances and compass directions:
- Metes: Measures of length and distance (feet, rods, chains, or yards).
- Bounds: Compass directions and boundaries (bearings).
Core Components of a Metes and Bounds Description
- Point of Beginning (POB): The description must commence at a precise, identifiable starting location. The POB is often tied to a permanent benchmark or physical monument located at a known intersection or government survey point.
- Monuments: Fixed physical objects used to establish field boundaries. Natural monuments include massive oak trees, boulders, rivers, and rock ridges; artificial monuments include iron pins driven into the ground, concrete boundary markers, and surveyor pipes.
- Bearings (Compass Directions): Boundary lines are described using compass angles measured in degrees (°), minutes ('), and seconds (") along a 360-degree circle, expressed as deviations North or South toward East or West (e.g., North 45 degrees 30 minutes 15 seconds East for 250.00 feet).
- Closure: The most critical legal rule of a metes and bounds description is that it must return to the Point of Beginning (e.g., "...thence South 88 degrees West 150 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING"). If a survey description fails to close, it creates a defective description that renders title unmarketable.
Historical Note: Early New Jersey colonial surveys frequently relied on impermanent natural monuments (such as "to the great pine tree struck by lightning" or "along the winding creek"). Over decades, trees died and waterways shifted, creating boundary disputes. Modern professional land surveys in New Jersey replace perishable monuments with precise GPS coordinates, iron pins, and geodetic reference markers.
Lot and Block (Recorded Plat) System
The lot and block system (also referred to as the recorded subdivision plat system) is the most common method for describing residential properties in modern New Jersey municipalities. It operates in two distinct phases:
- Subdivision Platting: A real estate developer and licensed surveyor survey a large acreage parcel using metes and bounds. They draft a detailed subdivision map (plat) dividing the tract into numbered blocks, streets, utility easements, and individual building lots.
- Municipal Approval and Recording: The plat is reviewed and approved by the local municipal Planning Board under the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL). Once approved, the plat is filed and recorded in the County Clerk or Register of Deeds office where the land is located.
Typical Description Format
A legal description under this system identifies the specific lot, block, subdivision name, and recording reference:
"Lot 14, Block 204, on a map entitled 'Fox Run Estates, Phase II', filed in the Office of the County Clerk of Camden County, New Jersey, on July 14, 2005, as Map No. 1234."
New Jersey Tax Map Connection: New Jersey property tax assessments, listing agreements, and municipal zoning records universally track properties by Block and Lot numbers. However, brokers must verify that the formal legal description attached to the deed matches the recorded subdivision plat or metes and bounds description, rather than relying solely on a municipal tax map sheet.
Rectangular (Government) Survey System Principles
Established by the Continental Congress under the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Rectangular Survey System (or Public Land Survey System - PLSS) was designed to systematically survey and map public domain lands west of the original thirteen colonies. While New Jersey itself is a metes-and-bounds state, the New Jersey Broker Exam rigorously tests national rectangular survey principles and mathematics:
Baselines and Meridians
The rectangular survey system divides land into a grid based on two intersecting reference lines:
- Principal Meridian: A true north-south line running through a designated geographic origin.
- Base Line: A true east-west line intersecting the Principal Meridian at right angles.
- Township Lines: Lines running east-west parallel to the base line at 6-mile intervals, forming horizontal strips of land known as township tiers.
- Range Lines: Lines running north-south parallel to the principal meridian at 6-mile intervals, forming vertical strips of land known as ranges.
Townships and Sections
The intersection of township lines and range lines creates a grid of squares called townships:
- Township Dimensions: A township is 6 miles by 6 miles, encompassing 36 square miles (23,040 acres).
- Section Breakdown: Each township is subdivided into 36 numbered sections. Each section is 1 mile by 1 mile (1 square mile) and contains exactly 640 acres.
- Numbering System: Sections within a township are numbered consecutively from 1 to 36, beginning in the northeast corner (Section 1), running west to Section 6, dropping south to Section 7, running east to Section 12, in a serpentine snake-like pattern ending in the southeast corner (Section 36).
- School Section: By historical congressional mandate, Section 16 was reserved for the maintenance and funding of public schools.
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | <- Section 16 (School)
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Calculating Acreage in Government Fractions
Sections can be divided into halves (320 acres), quarters (160 acres), quarter-quarters (40 acres), and smaller parcels. To calculate the total acreage in a rectangular survey legal description, multiply all the denominators together and divide 640 by that product:
Example: Calculate the acreage in the N ½ of the SW ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 14:
- Extract the denominators: 2, 4, 4.
- Multiply the denominators: $2 \times 4 \times 4 = 32$.
- Divide 640 acres by the product: $640 \div 32 = 20\text{ acres}$.
Compound Description Example: Calculate the acreage in the N ½ of the NE ¼ AND the SE ¼ of the NE ¼ of Section 22:
- First parcel: $2 \times 4 = 8$; $640 \div 8 = 80\text{ acres}$.
- Second parcel: $4 \times 4 = 16$; $640 \div 16 = 40\text{ acres}$.
- The word "AND" denotes two separate tracts: $80 + 40 = 120\text{ total acres}$.
Vertical Land Descriptions: Datums and Benchmarks
Real property ownership extends above and below the surface, requiring three-dimensional legal descriptions for condominiums, highway overpasses, underground transit tunnels, and mineral extraction:
- Datum: A standardized horizontal plane of elevation from which heights and depths are calculated. Nationally, the official datum is the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD), historically referenced to mean sea level at New York Harbor.
- Benchmarks: Permanent bronze or brass markers embossed with elevation data, securely set into bedrock or concrete structures by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Local surveyors reference nearby benchmarks to establish elevations.
- Air Lots: Defined units of airspace over a parcel of land (e.g., multi-story condominium units or commercial airspace leased above railway tracks), measured between specific upper and lower datum elevations.
What is the primary characteristic of a valid metes and bounds legal description?
Under the Rectangular Survey System, how many acres are contained within the legal description: 'The SW ¼ of the NE ¼ of the NW ¼ of Section 10'?
In a township under the Rectangular Survey System, which section number was historically designated by law for the support of public education?