RESTRAINT ON ALIENATION

restraint on alienation. 1. A restriction, usu. in a deed of conveyance, on a grantee’s ability to

sell or transfer real property; a provision that conveys an interest and that, even after the interest

has become vested, prevents or discourages the owner from disposing of it at all or from disposing

of it in particular ways or to particular persons. • Restraints on alienation are generally

unenforceable as against public policy favoring the free alienability of land. — Also termed

unreasonable restraint on alienation. 2. A trust provision that prohibits or penalizes alienation of

the trust corpus. [Cases: Perpetuities 6. C.J.S. Perpetuities § 65.] [Blacks Law 8^th]