Definition
Family use refers to the ordinary and customary use of property, services, or resources for the purposes of a household and its members, whether individually or collectively. The concept appears most often in two distinct legal contexts:
1. DOMESTIC/HOUSEHOLD USE: In property and utility law, family use describes the purpose for which real property is occupied or for which municipal services — particularly water — are supplied. A dwelling put to family use is occupied as a home, not for commercial, industrial, or investment purposes.
2. MUNICIPAL AND INSTITUTIONAL USE: In older utility and public works law, family use carried an extended meaning. Supply of water or other services "for family use" within a municipal corporation was interpreted to encompass not only private households but also jails, hospitals, almshouses, schools, and similar public institutions. This extension treated civic infrastructure as serving the collective household of the municipality.
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Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): "Family use" is not a defined entry in Wiktionary, but the phrase in ordinary English means use by members of a family unit — personal, domestic, not commercial.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Webster's 1913 does not define "family use" as a discrete term, but defines "family" as a household, including all persons under one roof, and "use" as the act of employing a thing for any purpose.
The gap between common and legal meaning is significant in the municipal context. A contemporary reader would assume "family use" describes a private household only. In historical legal usage — particularly in utility and water-rights law — the phrase was a term of art that swept in public institutions, fundamentally expanding what services and infrastructure a municipality could justify funding or rate-setting under a "family use" rubric.
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Why It Matters in Research
**Utility and rate-setting cases:** The most consequential historical use of this term appears in California water law. Bouvier's cites to 52 Cal. 120, where a California court treated family use as including municipal institutions. Researchers working on 19th- and early 20th-century utility regulation, rate-setting disputes, or municipal services litigation should watch for this expanded meaning. Cases that appear to resolve a question about "household" water supply may in fact be deciding the scope of municipal authority.
**Statutory interpretation traps:** Statutes using "family use" without definition may have been drafted against the backdrop of the expanded municipal meaning. A researcher applying a modern, narrow reading of "family use" to a 19th-century statute could miss the full scope of what the legislature intended.
**Property law and exemptions:** In some jurisdictions, "family use" appears in homestead exemption statutes, personal property exemption statutes, and automobile liability contexts (particularly the "family purpose doctrine"). These are analytically distinct from the utility-law usage. A search across these categories without attention to context will produce misleading results.
**Family purpose doctrine connection:** Though not identical, "family use" in property and vehicle liability law connects closely to the family purpose doctrine, which imposes liability on a vehicle owner when a family member causes an accident. Researchers should confirm which doctrinal context governs before treating cases as on-point.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier's Law Dictionary defines family use as "that use ordinarily made by and suitable for the members of a household whether as individuals or collectively," then immediately expands it in the municipal context to include jails, hospitals, almshouses, and schools. The Bouvier entry cross-references FAMILY and GROCERIES, the latter reflecting the historical practice of including household supplies under definitional family-use provisions.
Bouvier's treatment captures the dual nature of the term well but reflects a California-centric case base. The entry does not address family use in the property exemption or vehicle liability senses, which developed more fully in the 20th century. Researchers relying solely on Bouvier will have incomplete coverage of the term's later evolution.
No other historical dictionary in the Law Mind shelf provides a dedicated entry for family use as a standalone term.
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Jurisdictional Note
The expanded municipal definition of family use has its clearest case law roots in 19th-century California. Most modern jurisdictions treat family use according to specific statutory context — homestead law, vehicle liability, or utility regulation — and definitions are not uniform across states. The family purpose doctrine, which operationalizes family use concepts in tort, is recognized in roughly half of U.S. jurisdictions and rejected in others.
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