Overview

Why buy land?

Owning land can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences in Second Life.  Once you become a landowner, you truly become a part of the Second Life community, and can create and keep things inworld that will be there when you return.

Your own land is a space you can customize however you want, and a canvas where your creations can come to life. Land in Second Life is a place to call home, where you can invite friends to hang out, hold events, and more. You can use many of the virtual items you purchase in Second Life—like clothes, accessories and cars—anywhere. But if you purchase a house, a garden, or an entire forest, you're going to need somewhere to put it: your own plot of land!

Types of land

Mainland

Mainland refers to places located on the Linden Lab-owned and operated mainland continents. These continents are made up of regions connected to one another, with roads, waterways and railroads that run between them, which make them particularly well-suited to exploring in vehicles like sailboats and aircraft. Within these Linden-owned regions, the land is divided into parcels (or smaller pieces) which eligible members can own for themselves and use for businesses, homes, and more.

You must be a Plus, Premium or Premium Plus member to own a parcel on the mainland, but most areas are open for visitors and exploration. Look for the blue Infohub (ℹ️) logo on the World Map to find a public meeting space to start your explorations.

Private estates and regions

Private estates and the regions in them are operated by Residents who pay for the entire region directly to Linden Lab. In private regions, the owner has more control over access, appearance, and the content inside the region. Private regions are typically standalone or connected to other private regions, allowing for the highest degree of privacy and customization of experience in Second Life.

Private regions come in a few different types, largely differing based on their capacity for content and their intended use. For more information, see Private Regions.

Land terminology

There are a lot of different terms for land in Second Life, which can be a bit confusing. Here are a few of the more common terms and what they usually mean:

• A parcel is a piece of land within a region. It can be as small as a 16 square meter of grass or as large as the entire region's border (65,536 square meters, or 256 meters per side of the map square). Different parcels within the same region can have different owners, access settings, music stations, or rules about who can rez content on the land.
• A region is a uniquely named square on the Second Life map. They might be owned by Linden Lab as part of the mainland continent, or individually by a Resident as a private region. Every region exists in an estate, which is what determines the owner. 
• An estate is an administrative container for regions, much like a country in real life controls a specific piece of land or territory. Estates can have only one region in their jurisdiction, or in the case of the mainland estate owned by Linden Lab it can contain thousands of regions. This is similar to the idea of a country controlling different land areas in real life, with estates acting like a country and regions the land inside the country's possession.
  • For example, the country of Barbados is a single island (region) that is also a country (estate).
  • Compare that to Indonesia, which is made up of 17,504 islands (regions) in a single country (estate).
  • In these examples, the islands in the countries share common laws, currency, and government officials -- much like the different regions in an estate share an owner, estate managers, and selected settings like access.

How to buy land

There are several ways to buy land:

• Buy a parcel on the mainland if you have a Plus, Premium, or Premium Plus membership.  
• Premium and Premium Plus members can receive a free Linden Home, which is a great way to get started with land ownership.  See Linden Homes for more information.
• Buy an entire region (a private island).  

Instead of buying land, you can rent land:

• On a private estate - see Renting land from other Residents.
• On the mainland - see Renting a region for a special event.

Buying mainland

Most land on the mainland is owned by other Residents, who may choose to sell their land if they like. Residents can set the price for their land parcels by setting it for sale in the World > About Land interface, and when they make their land available for sale it will appear in Search.

To search for land for sale by another Resident:

• Open the World > Search menu, or click the 🔎 icon on the toolbar in the Viewer.
• Select the Land to buy or rent tab on the left menu.
• Select your preferred options for your search:
  • You can choose to look for land on the Mainland, on a full or homestead Private Region, or for mainland available for Auction.
  • You can choose to look for land to Buy or to Rent.
    • Private region offerings are considered rentals; the owner of the private region always fully owns the land inside it, but may choose to rent parcels in their private region to others. Please be sure to read the Covenant of any region you buy or rent land in, and be aware that rental land on private regions is available by the region owner's choice.
  • You can select which region Maturity levels you prefer for your search results.

Linden Lab does not usually set land for direct sale on the mainland. However, there are two special cases in which you can obtain mainland parcels from Linden Lab: 

• Auctions: Linden Lab regularly auctions mainland parcels via Second Life Land Auctions.  Land owned on the mainland may be subject to an additional land use fee (also known as a tier fee), which is a monthly charge in addition to a membership subscription based on how much land you own.
• Abandoned land:  In some special cases, Linden Lab sells abandoned mainland parcels to individual Residents. For more information, see Abandoned land.  Remember that you can buy land from your fellow Residents, and if you want a whole region to yourself, you can buy a Private Region from the Land Store.

Land owned by Governor Linden named "Protected Land" will not generally be terraformed or sold to Residents.

Requirements

To purchase mainland land in Second Life, you must have a Plus, Premium, or Premium Plus membership with current payment information on file and your account must be in good standing. You may also be required to have a clean disciplinary record.

Plus members receive 512 square meters of land allowance included with their membership. Premium members receive 1024 square meters of land allowance (tier) included with their membership, meaning that they incur no extra land use fees for owning mainland as long as they own 1024 square meters or less.  For more information, see Land tier.  A Premium account also provides many other benefits.  For more information, see Premium membership.

Premium Plus members receive 2048 square meters of land allowance (tier) included with their membership.

How to buy mainland

Once you find the land you want and have signed up for an eligible membership (like Premium), buying it is easy:

1. Right-click the parcel you want to purchase.
2. Choose About Land.
3. Click the Buy Land button.
4. Review the purchase information.
5. Click OK.

Buying Private Regions

A private region is a 256m x 256m piece of virtual land -- an entire square of the map with a unique name that a single region owner controls. Regions run on a single server and have their own set of controls beyond those provided to mainland parcel owners.

For more information see:

• Private Regions: Buying Private Regions
• Managing private regions

Requirements

By purchasing a Private Region, you are agreeing to pay the initial setup fee, plus monthly service fees for as long as you own the region. You are also agreeing to a restocking fee if you cancel your order.  You will be charged the setup fee once the order is completed. Monthly fees begin 30 days from the date you complete your purchase.

Residents don't require a special membership or a subscription like Plus or Premium to purchase a private region; Basic members are welcome to do so. Private Region owners receive Concierge level service from our Support team in order to assist with any questions or issues they might have about their region.

Additional tips

The following tips will help you purchase land wisely and confidently:

• Make sure you know exactly what you're purchasing! Press Ctrl-Alt-Shift-P on your keyboard to toggle parcel boundary lines.
• Right-click the parcel to bring up the About Land window, which shows you the land's Area in square meters.
• Look at the About Land window's General tab to see if objects are included in the sale.
• Check the Parcel land capacity entry in the About Land window's Objects tab. This indicates how much land impact the land can support before it stops allowing new objects to enter..

• If the Advanced menu is active, try hiding objects by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Shift-1 on your keyboard to make sure there isn't a hidden "hole" in the property that you are unwittingly purchasing with the rest of the land.
• Make sure you're happy with the overall shape of the land. Most land in Second Life can only be raised 4m above or below its original position, and the previous owner may have already reached that limit. 

Land allowance (tier)

The mainland is a continent of conjoined regions that can be split into smaller parcels, and many Residents own parcels of different sizes spread out across several different regions. Because of this, land ownership is charged not based on a flat rate (like a private region) but on how many square meters a Resident owns simultaneously, billed in increasing levels (often called 'tiers').

For example, owning up to 1,024 square meters of land is included in a standard Premium membership. If you buy a little more land and now own 1,100 square meters of land, you've moved up to the next tier level -- between 1,025m and 1,536m of land. Because you've purchased more than the included land allowance, a monthly land fee will be charged to your account. 

Each tier level has a set price, whether you have just a little land over the limit or if you're using every square meter allowed by that level. 1,025m of land costs the same as 1535m of land, in terms of monthly land allowance fee.

Land allowance (often simply referred to as "tier) is a key concept of Second Life land ownership.  "Tier" refers to the maximum amount of land you can own on the mainland before your land fee goes up to the next level, measured in square meters (m²).  

Plus members receive 512m²  included in their membership subscription. While they can't receive a Linden Home, Plus members can purchase parcels on the mainland as well as take part in Second Life Land Auctions.

A standard Premium membership includes 1024m² of tier, which can be used for a free Linden Home or to own other land elsewhere on the mainland. 

Premium Plus members receive 2048m of land allowance included in their membership fees. Please note, every avatar is limited to one (1) Linden Home per avatar, regardless of their available land allowance.

For the most up to date information on current mainland pricing and fees, please see our Mainland Pricing and Fees page.

Land use fees

If you want to own more land than you have available at your current land allowance level, you must upgrade to the next level up. You can use the Land Use Fees page to update your tier level, or in some cases you can simply purchase a larger piece of land and (with your approval) the system will move you to the next tier level as part of the purchase.

Upgrading to a higher tier will increase your monthly land use fees, but you will be able to acquire more land for your use or to donate to one of your groups. Before you purchase a parcel of land, check the purchase window carefully. The system will warn you if purchasing a parcel will increase your monthly land fee. Land use tiers and pricing are shown on the Land Use Fees page.

You can manage your land use fees and see which level you're at on the Account Dashboard at SecondLife.com.

If you find that you're using quite a lot of land allowance, you can continue to increase your allowed holdings to meet your needs. If you sell the land and move back to a lower level of land usage, the system automatically reduces you to that lower level's fee -- but please be advised that land allowance that is donated to a group is not automatically lowered if the land owned by the group is sold. Anyone contributing land allowance to a group will continue to contribute until they manually reduce their donation. Please see Group-owned land for more information.

Exceptions

Please note the following exceptions to the general rules stated above:

• You can own a private estate without having any monthly land use fees; private estates and parcels in private regions do not count towards land use calculations and do not require a membership subscription, because a private region owner is charged at a flat rate for the entire region each month in advance.
• Groups receive a 10% bonus in land allowance when members donate land allowance to that group. For example, if group members contribute 1000m of land allowance in donations, the group can own up to 1100m of land (10% of 1000m is 100m).  See Group-owned land for more information.
• Some Resident-owned private estates have their own distinct land rental systems which are not part of Linden Lab's land use fees. If you are renting from such an estate, contact the owner or another appropriate Resident directly for assistance.

Finding land to buy

The inworld Search tool enables you to browse and filter a comprehensive database of real estate listings. Simply follow these steps:

1. Open the World > Search menu, or click the 🔎 icon on the toolbar in the Viewer.
2. Select the Land to buy or rent tab on the left menu.
3. Select your preferred options for your search:
   • You can choose to look for land on the Mainland, on a full or homestead Private Region, or for mainland available for Auction.
   • You can choose to look for land to Buy or to Rent.
     • ⚠️ Private region offerings are always considered rentals; the owner of the private region always fully owns the land inside it, but may choose to rent parcels in their private region to others. Please be sure to read the Covenant of any region you buy or rent land in, and be aware that rental land on private regions is available by the region owner's choice.
   • You can select which region Maturity levels you prefer for your search results.
4. Add any keywords you're interested in, like "waterfront" or "snow", or leave the Optional Keywords blank.
5. Click Search.
6. Use the filters on the left to adjust your results, including the Area of the parcel (size) or the Price in Linden Dollars (L$).
7. Click on the column names to sort by Name, Type, L$ Price, Area, or L$/m (Linden dollars per square meter)
8. Click on a listing to view more details. When you find a property that interests you, click Teleport to go explore it!

Second Life's Auctions also list land parcels up for sale to the highest bidder. Auction parcels are priced in Linden Dollars (L$).

Land sales in Private Regions

The mechanics of buying and selling land in a Private Region are very similar to the process on the mainland. However, there are a few key differences that buyers and sellers should take into account when making a land transaction in a Private Region.

Similarities

• As the seller, the Private Region owner can split parcels of the region and set them for sale.
• The technical steps for buying the land are identical.

Differences

• 'Buying' a parcel in a private region puts that parcel in your name, but you must pay rent to the region owner to maintain the land. Check the rental rates of a parcel before you purchase it!
  • Private regions typically have a scripted rental system which Residents must pay in order to keep the land they've acquired. Parcel rentals on private regions may be rented by the month, week, day, or in some cases hours -- a private region owner has complete control over how they prefer to charge tenants for land in their region.
• Parcels in Private Regions are governed by covenants. A covenant is a kind of contract, defined by the owner of the Private Region, to which you must agree before buying the land. It may outline details such as local theme, rental fees, architectural regulations, and rules of behavior.
• Land purchased in a Private Region does not count against your land use tier or require a Premium membership, however the region owner will typically charge you a fee for continuing use of the land (rent).
• The Private Region owner may evict you from your parcel in a Private Region at any time. Private Region owners have absolute power over their estates and are within their rights to reclaim land as they see fit. Make sure to read your region's covenant closely for terms of use before you acquire your parcel.
• Private Region owners have use of the Region/Estate window which includes such region access options as:
  • Access restricted to Residents based on payment status
  • Region maturity can be set to General, Moderate, or Adult

Object land capacity

Every region has a finite capacity for content -- that is, there's a limit to how many objects a region can hold that's determined by the type of the region (a full region versus a homestead, for example) and the hardware running that region. The limit for how much content a parcel can hold is typically based on its size -- the large a parcel is, the larger percentage of a region's content budget it can hold. Objects in Second Life have a land impact cost based on the object's complexity, size, and characteristics.

This parcel content limit is called object land capacity (sometimes referred to by its old name of 'prim limit' -- before mesh, all objects were created out of 'primitive' objects like cubes and spheres linked together). With prims, a chair made from four linked cubes would have a land impact of four (one for each cube). The corresponding calculation for mesh objects are different, since they're complex and can't be measured as simply as a stack of prims. For more information on how mesh objects contribute to a parcel's available object capacity, see Calculating land impact.

More than one parcel in a region

All parcels belonging to the same owner (or group) in the same region share their land capacity.  You can view this represented as Region capacity in the About Land window. In this way, it is possible for the Parcel land impact number to be higher than the Parcel land capacity number.

To view the About Land window, stand on a parcel and select World > About Land. For information about objects on the land, select the Objects tab in the About Land window.

Vehicles and parcel limits

Objects that are Selected / sat upon do not count against the Parcel land capacity. This allows vehicles to pass freely through parcels that might not otherwise be able to support them. However, objects that are sat upon or selected (for editing) do count against a region's total capacity. If a Region is completely full of content, you cannot drive a vehicle into it.

Object bonus factor

In Private Regions, the owner may set an Object Bonus to increase the percentage of a region's full capacity that the parcels inside can use. This setting multiplies the capacity each parcel can support by the Bonus Factor. It is important to note that this does not increase the maximum capacity supported by the Region, which means that not all parcels in the Region will be able to reach their listed maximum capacity.

Some areas of the mainland have an object bonus set, and are sometimes referred to as "double prim" or "double object capacity" land. These regions -- like the Linden Homes on the Bellisseria continent or the Resident-owned parcels of the Bay City regions -- have extra Linden-owned parks, roads, and empty land, which allows Resident-owned parcels to use the unused land impact instead.