It’s true, there’s no clear definition of what seperates a personal property from a real property.
Definitions out there have flaws and weaknesses; just as one item supports the logic of one definition, another mar its clarity.
It’s a twist and turn affair. But at least, when it comes to the kitchen cabinet, the answer is quite logical and straightforward: kitchen cabinets are not a personal property!
Here’s why kitchen cabinets are not considered personal property
Kitchen cabinets are not considered personal property because they are not normally movable and not normally intended to be moved. Kitchen cabinets are fixed to the walls of the kitchen, and through that course, become an integral part of the house which happens to be a real property.
Below, you’ll get to understand why kitchen cabinets are not considered personal property because they’re not “normally movable” and not “normally intended to be moved”.
But before that, let us go through the basics of what property and personal property are.
What is a property?
In simple terms, property is what you own as an individual or what an entity or a group of people have right over or the most complete right to.
For instance, your phones, books, dishes, portable appliances, toys, automobiles, bank account, trade secrets, trade marks all constitute personal property because they are things you own and have the most complete right to.
Property can be tangible, which means it could be perceptible by touch, or intangible which means it doesn’t exist in the physical realm.
Just so you know, the two broad divisions of property are the real property consisting of land and anything built on it, also known as (Realty) and the personal property — which we’ll get to in a minute, also known as (Personalty).
What is a personal property?
Personal property is your normally movable and normally intended to be moved possessions.
The “normally movable” and “normally intended to be movable” here is critical in answering the main question of this article: which is whether or not cabinets are considered personal property.
We’ll touch on that in a second.
So, if anything is to be considered a personal property, it needs to have the attribute of being normally moveable and be normally intended to be moved from one place to another.
With this in mind, you can expect your furniture, portable appliances such as microwaves and mini fans, clothes, dishes, artwork, toothbrush, automobile etc. all considered as personal belongings or property.
Why is the kitchen cabinet not considered a personal property?
As we have mentioned earlier, personal property, in terms of tangibles, entails anything that is “normally moveable” and normally intended to be moved”.
These two criteria disqualify the kitchen cabinet from being identified as a personal property.
How? You may ask? They were obviously yours when you bought them into the house wrapped inside a cardboard packaging, and they even had sales tax imposed upon sale, so why shouldn’t they be personal property?
Here’s the thing to consider.
Your cabinets WERE actually personal property when you bought them from the store or had them custom built.
The individual movable pieces they appeared in, and the fact that he had sales tax imposed on them made them so.
But things quickly take a turn when you affix or install them to the walls of your kitchen.
The moment you do so, the kitchen cabinets instantly become an extension of the house, which happens to be a property that CANNOT BE MOVED.
Because of that, your cabinets no longer retain their “personal property” nature, but instead, are considered to be part of the real property.
But why is that so?
It’s for the reason that the cabinets are no longer not “normally movable” and are definitely not “normally intended to be moved”.
Any person of logic and with common sense would agree to these two statements.
Once you have your cabinets installed, they definitely aren’t that movable anymore. You just want them there for as long as their life span dictates, and then reface or replace them whenever they get old.
Let’s see things from other perspectives too.
When you install the kitchen cabinets, they instantly become an extension of the home just like your hands are an extension of your body, and to such a fact, they contribute to the overall usefulness of the home, just like your hands contribute to the overall functionality of your being.
Without the cabinets, some part of the usefulness of the kitchen is lost, which means really, the installed cabinets transition into an integral part of a home the moment they are fixed onto the walls, which makes them a realty.
What is considered a personal property in the kitchen?
As mentioned earlier, whatever item that doesn’t fulfill the “normally movable” and “normally intended to be moved”criteria isn’t a personal property.
So let’s apply this rule to a lot of things in the kitchen and see what falls into personal property and what falls into the real category.
List of personal property in the kitchen
- Microwave
- Moveable refrigerator
- Toaster ovens
- Dishware
- Bakeware
- Utensils
List of non-personal property in the kitchen
- Countertop
- Ovens
- Moldings
- Islands
- Door handles
- Sink
- Garbage disposal
Are kitchen appliances considered personal property?
Some kitchen appliances are considered personal property whereas others aren’t.
Typically, a standalone kitchen appliance or one that doesn’t rely on external fixation to work, for example the dishwasher, refrigerator, toaster oven or microwave, is considered to be a personal property as it can be moved, and most importantly, is “intended to be moved” — which most likely was the reason why it was bought as a “stand-alone appliance” in the first place.
However, for those that require plumbing and electrical installations such as electric ovens and dishwashers, they are not readily movable and are not intended to be removed after installation. As a result, they are considered real property.
What are the examples of personal property at home?
Television
I know “television” might come across as a contradiction to the rule expressed earlier: that personal property should be “normally moveable” and “normally intended to be moved”, because televisions are typically attached to the walls which should make them a realty.
But when you consider and deliberate carefully, you’ll discover that televisions, though can be attached to walls, are in fact normally intended to be moved and are easily moveable. And this is the reason why they are considered a personal property.
Also, nowadays, it’s no surprise to find televisions incorporated into the real property for sale.
What else?
We placed television at the top of the list for a reason actually, which was to discuss the supposed contradiction of the rule!
Now that we’ve cleared this out of the way, let’s go ahead and list out the rest on the list.
- Furniture
- Clothes
- Artwork
- Moveable lamps
- Toys
- Electronics