homestead law

noun

plural homestead laws

1

: a law protecting a homestead (see homestead entry 1 sense 1a) from seizure or sale while the owner is being held liable for a debt

For the owner of a $125,000 house that's a primary residence and protected by state homestead laws, the value will increase only 2.1 percent, and $50,000 in value will be tax-exempt.

—Brittany Wallman

2

: any of several legislative acts authorizing the sale or free provision of public lands in homesteads (see homestead entry 1 sense 2)

Our land laws for the entry of agricultural lands are now as follows: The original homestead law, with the requirements of residence and cultivation for five years, much more strictly enforced now than ever before.

—William Howard Taft

Examples of homestead law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For the owner of a $125,000 house that's a primary residence and protected by state homestead laws, the value will increase only 2.1 percent, and $50,000 in value will be tax-exempt. —Brittany Wallman, Sun-Sentinel.com, 27 Sep. 2017

For the owner of a $260,000 house that's a primary residence and protected by state homestead laws, the value for tax purposes would increase only 2.1 percent, and $50,000 in value would be exempt from taxation. —Brittany Wallman, Sun-Sentinel.com, 25 Sep. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1