Property rights are evidence of ownership in real property that can take many forms. Real property ownership is referred to in terms of holding "title", and title ownership is a matter of public information and is evidenced by records maintained by the Clerk of the Superior Court. Every parcel of real property in Georgia has a chain of title that should be able to be traced back to the King of England. Those who examine title records ("title examiners") are required to review a chain of title into the past for at least 50 years to determine ownership of the various interests in the property. Title examiners review the records and provide reports that specify the various interests in a parcel of real property.

First year law students are taught to think about property rights as a bundle of sticks. Whoever has one of the sticks has an interest in the property and all of the sticks together represent the entire interest in the property. The following example illustrates this concept.

When you buy property in a subdivision, you are receiving a bundle of sticks. Out of that bundle, one stick goes to your lender – assuming you have obtained a loan – and that stick represents the lender's security interest in the property. If you payoff the lender one day, the lender gives the stick it is holding back to you. If you have a homeowners' association that governs your neighborhood, the HOA is holding one of the sticks, which represents the protective covenants that bind your property and control some of its use. If you give someone the right to access other property through your property, that right is evidenced by another stick. If the property is subject to any zoning restrictions or conditional uses, those are sticks held by others. Finally, if the property was transferred to you subject to certain use restrictions, those restrictions are represented by other sticks.

Fee simple ownership is the most complete form of ownership available and is subject to no superior claims. Ownership rights also can include tenancy rights, security interests, licenses, easements and agreements to various restrictions and protective covenants. Property rights are transferred by the owners thereof through legal instruments such as deeds, easements and restrictive covenants which appear in the chain of title. Governmental entities also may adopt zoning district overlays that can further limit or define the use of property.