Tennessee House Bill HB0986

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/10/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 66, Chapter 1, relative to real property.

Summary

HB0986 would change Tennessee property law by limiting and, in many cases, eliminating long-term reverter and forfeiture provisions in deeds, wills, and similar instruments. The bill targets common-law estates such as fee simple determinable, fee simple subject to condition subsequent, and fee simple subject to executory limitation, which can cause property to revert or be forfeited if a condition is violated. Under the bill, reverter or forfeiture provisions in instruments executed more than 75 years before July 1, 2025, would be abolished and unenforceable, and such provisions in instruments executed on or after July 1, 2025, would be invalid from the start. For older conveyances already in existence as of July 1, 2025, the bill creates a transition rule: those rights would generally expire 75 years after the conveyance date unless a sworn statement is filed in the county register of deeds office by July 1, 2026. That filing would extend the reverter provision one time for five years, after which the interest would become a fee simple absolute. In all cases covered by the bill, the result is to convert the affected property interest into fee simple absolute and bar actions to recover or forfeit the property based on the terminated reversionary interest.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 66, Chapter 1, Part 1, by adding a new section that abolishes or limits certain reversionary property interests and makes them unenforceable after specified time periods. It would affect deeds, wills, and other real-property conveyances statewide, especially older title instruments containing conditions that could trigger reversion or forfeiture. The practical effect is to strengthen marketable title, reduce uncertainty in land records, and convert affected interests into fee simple absolute ownership.

Sentiment

The bill text reflects a strongly supportive policy position toward simplifying title and removing what the sponsors describe as archaic restraints on alienation. The stated legislative findings emphasize certainty of title and the public interest in abolishing these common-law estates. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no additional evidence of opposition or support beyond the bill’s pro-reform framing.

Contention

The main point of contention likely concerns the bill’s impact on existing property rights and donor or grantor intent, especially for deeds and wills that were drafted to preserve long-term conditions or reversionary interests. Property owners, heirs, land trusts, churches, schools, or other entities that rely on conditional gifts may object to the automatic termination of those interests, while title professionals and market participants are likely to support the measure for reducing uncertainty. The bill attempts to address existing interests with a one-time filing window, but that transition rule may still be controversial because it requires affirmative action to preserve rights that otherwise expire.