The bundle of rights is a metaphor to explain the complexities of property ownership. Law school professors of introductory property law courses frequently use this conceptualization to describe "full" property ownership as a partition of various entitlements of different stakeholders.

The concept originated with Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld in 1913, although he himself never used the phrase "bundle of rights". It was further developed and propagated to a broader audience in the form of the first Restatement of Property (published in five volumes between 1936 and 1944), because the Restatement's first reporter, Harry Bigelow, was a fan of Hohfeld's ideas.

The bundle of rights is commonly taught in first-year property courses in law schools in the United States to explain how property can simultaneously be "owned" by multiple parties. Before it was developed, the idea of property was seen in terms of dominion over a thing, as in the ability of the owner to place restrictions on others from interfering with the owner's property. The "bundle of rights," however, implies rules specifying, proscribing, or authorizing actions on the part of the owner.

Ownership of land is a much more complex proposition than simply acquiring all the rights to it. It is useful to imagine a bundle of rights that can be separated and reassembled. A "bundle of sticks" – in which each stick represents an individual right – is a common analogy made for the bundle of rights. Any property owner possesses a set of "sticks" related directly to the land.

For example, perfection of a mechanic's lien takes some, but not all, rights out of the bundle held by the owner. Extinguishing that lien returns those rights or "sticks" to the bundle held by the owner. In the United States (and under common law) the fullest possible title to real estate is called "fee simple absolute." Even the US federal government's ownership of land is restricted in some ways by state property law.

Traditionally, the bundle of rights concept encompassed five basic rights that may be held with respect to a parcel of real property

Variations on the division between public and private property use can be found throughout the world. While the bundle of rights concept is strongly rooted in common law, there are comparable ideas in civil law systems and religious law systems. National, sub-national, and municipal laws strongly influence what title owners can do with their property in terms of physical development. Quasi-governmental bodies (such as utility companies) are also permitted to create easements across private property.

Historically the degrees of individual and community control over real property have varied greatly. The differences between capitalism, despotism, socialism, feudalism, and traditional societies often define different standards for land ownership. The bundle of rights concept looks much different when examined by different types of societies. For instance, a laissez-faire government would allow a much different bundle of rights than a communist government.