Legal Definitions - voluntary waste

Voluntary waste, also known as affirmative waste, is when a tenant or life tenant intentionally damages a property or depletes its natural resources, causing a decrease in its value. Tenants have a responsibility to not commit affirmative waste on the property they reside in.

For example, if a tenant cuts down all the trees on the property for firewood, that would be considered voluntary waste. However, if the tenant regularly harvests crops on a farm, that would not be considered waste.

There is an exception to this rule, called the prior use exception. If the land was previously used in a way that allowed for the exploitation of its natural resources, the current tenant is allowed to continue to deplete those resources.

For instance, if the land was previously used for mining, the current tenant would be allowed to continue mining on the property without committing voluntary waste.