What’s the Difference Between a Parcel, Tract and a Lot?

By Jedidiah McKeehan

A parcel, a tract, and a lot. If you say it five times fast, you may have a decent tongue twister on your hands.

What do these terms mean though? Is there any difference between them? Let’s see how these terms are commonly defined.

A parcel is defined as, “a piece of land that has been legally divided from a larger area of land.”

A tract is defined as, “an identifiable portion of land, that is often a very large area of land, most commonly a tract consists of 640 acres.”

A lot is defined as, “a plot of land, typically .19 acres or 8,276 square feet, which is enough for a new single-family home.”

So, a parcel is an area that has been divided off from a bigger area of land and it has an undefined size. A tract is a big area of land that may be a defined size, but it may not. A lot seems to be a small, mostly defined area of land.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties.  He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.