Trade fixtures installed by a tenant are typically considered

• A. Personal property until removed
• B. Landlord property
• C. Real property
• D. Fixtures that become real property upon installation

Answer: (A)

Trade fixtures are items a tenant installs to run a business in a rented space. Even though they’re attached for use in the tenant’s operation, they’re still the tenant’s property, not part of the building. Because their purpose is tied to the tenant’s trade and they can typically be removed when the lease ends, they are treated as personal property until they’re taken out. The building owner doesn’t own these items by default, and they don’t automatically become real property just because they were installed—unless there’s an explicit agreement to that effect. So the best description is that they are personal property until removed, with removal generally allowed at lease end as long as it doesn’t cause unacceptable damage.