Dictionary of Business Terms: Transfer Development Rights (TDR)
Transfer Development Rights (TDR)
type of zoning ordinance that allows owners of property zoned for low-density development or conservation use to sell development rights to other property owners. For example, suppose two adjacent landowners, A and B, are each allowed to build a ten-story office building on their own property. Using TDRs, landowner A could sell his development rights to landowner B, allowing B to build twenty stories high provided that A leaves his land undeveloped.
