LA Bar Property Law 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Louisiana law, a predial servitude is extinguished by:
- The death of the owner of the dominant estate
- Nonuse for 10 years (Correct answer)
- Sale of the dominant estate to a third party
- The dominant estate owner granting a one-time permission to use it
Correct answer: Nonuse for 10 years
La. C.C. art. 753 provides that predial servitudes are extinguished by nonuse for 10 years.
Question 2: Under Louisiana law, an apparent servitude such as a right of passage may be acquired by:
- Written recorded act only
- Title, destination of the owner, or acquisitive prescription (Correct answer)
- Court order only after neighbor refuses access
- Adverse possession of the servient estate for 30 years
Correct answer: Title, destination of the owner, or acquisitive prescription
La. C.C. art. 742 provides that apparent servitudes, evidenced by visible external signs, may be acquired by title, destination of the owner, or acquisitive prescription.
Question 3: The doctrine of 'destination of the owner' in Louisiana servitude law arises when:
- A court orders a servitude for public benefit
- A prior common owner used one estate for the benefit of another, and those estates are later divided (Correct answer)
- A landowner dedicates a strip of land to a neighboring parish
- An owner's will bequeaths a servitude to a legatee
Correct answer: A prior common owner used one estate for the benefit of another, and those estates are later divided
La. C.C. art. 741 provides that destination of the owner exists when a former owner's use of two estates, had they belonged to different owners, would have been a servitude, and that use continues after division.
Question 4: The personal servitude of habitation in Louisiana grants its holder the right to:
- Sell or sublease the residence to generate income
- Inhabit the house of another and use it as a dwelling for oneself and family (Correct answer)
- Collect all rents and revenues produced by the house
- Permanently occupy the property regardless of the naked owner's needs
Correct answer: Inhabit the house of another and use it as a dwelling for oneself and family
La. C.C. art. 630 defines habitation as the real right to inhabit another's house, limited to use as a dwelling for the holder and family.
Question 5: A usufructuary's primary obligation at the termination of a Louisiana usufruct is to:
- Pay the naked owner fair market rent for the period of usufruct
- Return the property in the same condition as received, normal use excepted (Correct answer)
- Replace any improvements made during the usufruct at the usufructuary's expense
- Obtain the naked owner's written release before vacating
Correct answer: Return the property in the same condition as received, normal use excepted
La. C.C. art. 578 requires the usufructuary to return the property at termination without deterioration beyond that caused by normal use.
Question 6: A servitude is classified as 'apparent' under Louisiana Civil Code Article 707 when:
- Its existence is noted in the conveyance records
- Continuous external signs visible upon inspection make its existence known (Correct answer)
- The dominant estate owner has formally notified the servient estate owner in writing
- A court has adjudicated and declared its existence
Correct answer: Continuous external signs visible upon inspection make its existence known
La. C.C. art. 707 defines apparent servitudes as those with external signs visible to anyone who examines the property.
Question 7: Which of the following obligations CANNOT be imposed as a predial servitude under Louisiana law?
- The right to drain water across a neighbor's land
- The right to prohibit a neighbor from building above a certain height
- The obligation for the servient estate owner to perform regular maintenance on the dominant estate (Correct answer)
- The right to draw water from a spring on the neighbor's property
Correct answer: The obligation for the servient estate owner to perform regular maintenance on the dominant estate
La. C.C. art. 647 provides that predial servitudes can only oblige the servient owner to tolerate or refrain from acts—never to perform affirmative acts for the dominant estate's benefit.
LA Bar Property Law 3
Under Louisiana law, a predial servitude is extinguished by: