LA Notary Property Law (Things, Ownership, and Usufruct) — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Louisiana Civil Code, what is the difference between movables and immovables?
- Movables are rented; immovables are owned
- Immovables are tracts of land, component parts of land, and rights relating to land; all other things are movables (Correct answer)
- Movables are items under $500; immovables are over $500
- There is no legal distinction
Correct answer: Immovables are tracts of land, component parts of land, and rights relating to land; all other things are movables
Louisiana classifies all things as either immovable or movable.
Louisiana Civil Code Articles 461-475 classify all things as either movables or immovables. Different legal rules apply: immovables require authentic act for transfer, are subject to mortgage law, and have different prescriptive periods.
Question 2: What is accession in Louisiana property law?
- The right to access a public road
- The principle that the owner of a thing becomes the owner of everything produced by or united to that thing (Correct answer)
- A tax on property improvements
- The process of recording a deed
Correct answer: The principle that the owner of a thing becomes the owner of everything produced by or united to that thing
Accession gives the owner ownership of what is produced by or attached to their property.
Louisiana Civil Code Articles 482-497 govern accession. Under Article 493, buildings and constructions on land are presumed to belong to the landowner.
Question 3: Under Louisiana law, what rights does a usufructuary have regarding the property subject to usufruct?
- The right to sell the property
- The right to use the property and enjoy its fruits while preserving its substance (Correct answer)
- The right to destroy the property
- No rights beyond the right to live on the property
Correct answer: The right to use the property and enjoy its fruits while preserving its substance
The usufructuary can use the property and collect its fruits but must preserve the substance.
Louisiana Civil Code Articles 535-629 define the usufructuary's rights: use the property, collect natural and civil fruits, but preserve the substance and maintain the property.
Question 4: What is co-ownership (indivision) under Louisiana law?
- Joint ownership by married couples only
- Ownership of the same thing by two or more persons, each having an undivided share (Correct answer)
- A business partnership
- Ownership of adjacent properties
Correct answer: Ownership of the same thing by two or more persons, each having an undivided share
Co-ownership exists when multiple persons own undivided shares of the same thing.
Louisiana Civil Code Articles 797-818 govern co-ownership. Any co-owner may demand partition at any time (Art. 807). Management decisions require a majority of ownership interests.
Question 5: Under Louisiana law, what is a building restriction?
- A government zoning regulation
- A charge imposed on an immovable by a private party restricting the use of the property for the benefit of other property or a community (Correct answer)
- A building permit requirement
- A construction safety code
Correct answer: A charge imposed on an immovable by a private party restricting the use of the property for the benefit of other property or a community
Building restrictions are private charges that limit property use, commonly found in subdivisions.
Louisiana Civil Code Articles 775-783 govern building restrictions. They are charges imposed by the owner in pursuance of a general plan governing building standards, use, or aesthetic requirements.
Question 6: What is the concept of boundaries and boundary actions in Louisiana property law?
- Fences required by law between properties
- The legal process of establishing the exact limits between adjoining properties (Correct answer)
- Property tax assessments based on acreage
- Zoning classifications of property borders
Correct answer: The legal process of establishing the exact limits between adjoining properties
A boundary action allows adjoining landowners to have the exact boundary line established.
Louisiana Civil Code Articles 784-796 govern boundary actions. Any landowner may compel an adjoining landowner to fix the boundary. The action does not prescribe.
Question 7: Under Louisiana law, who is responsible for necessary repairs to property under usufruct?
- The naked owner only
- The usufructuary is responsible for ordinary maintenance and repairs (Correct answer)
- The insurance company
- The local government
Correct answer: The usufructuary is responsible for ordinary maintenance and repairs
The usufructuary must maintain the property and make ordinary repairs.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 576 provides that the usufructuary is responsible for ordinary maintenance and repairs. Extraordinary repairs are the naked owner's responsibility unless caused by the usufructuary's fault.
Question 8: What is acquisitive prescription of immovable property (30-year prescription) in Louisiana?
- A tax exemption after owning property for 30 years
- Acquisition of ownership through continuous possession for 30 years, even without title or good faith (Correct answer)
- A mandatory survey requirement every 30 years
- Expiration of a mortgage after 30 years
Correct answer: Acquisition of ownership through continuous possession for 30 years, even without title or good faith
Thirty-year acquisitive prescription allows ownership through long possession without requiring title or good faith.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 3486 provides for acquisitive prescription through 30 years of continuous, peaceable, public, and unequivocal possession as owner. No title or good faith is required.
Question 9: Under Louisiana law, can a landowner deny access to their property if it is the only way for a neighbor to reach a public road?
- Yes, a landowner has absolute right to deny access
- No, the enclosed landowner has the right to demand a passage to the nearest public road (Correct answer)
- Only with a court order
- Only if the neighbor pays 10 times the property value
Correct answer: No, the enclosed landowner has the right to demand a passage to the nearest public road
Louisiana provides a legal servitude of passage for landlocked estates.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 689 establishes the legal servitude of passage. The owner of an enclosed estate may claim a right of passage over neighboring property. Compensation must be paid for damage caused.
Question 10: What is the concept of mineral rights in Louisiana property law?
- The right to collect rocks from public land
- A separate estate that can be created separately from surface ownership (Correct answer)
- Only the federal government holds mineral rights
- Mineral rights only apply to gold and silver
Correct answer: A separate estate that can be created separately from surface ownership
Louisiana treats mineral rights as separable from surface ownership.
Louisiana's Mineral Code (R.S. 31:1 et seq.) creates a framework for mineral servitudes, mineral royalties, and mineral leases. These are real rights that can be transferred independently of surface ownership.
Question 11: Under Louisiana law, what is the difference between ownership and possession?
- They are identical concepts
- Ownership is a legal right (title); possession is the physical holding or control of a thing (Correct answer)
- Possession always proves ownership
- Ownership only applies to immovables
Correct answer: Ownership is a legal right (title); possession is the physical holding or control of a thing
Ownership is the legal title; possession is the factual control. They are related but distinct.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 477 defines ownership; Article 3421 defines possession. Possession creates legal presumptions and can lead to ownership through acquisitive prescription.
Question 12: What is destination of the owner as it relates to servitudes in Louisiana law?
- The mailing address of the property owner
- An apparent arrangement created by the owner that becomes a servitude when the properties are divided (Correct answer)
- The purpose for which the owner uses the property
- A deed restriction placed by the original developer
Correct answer: An apparent arrangement created by the owner that becomes a servitude when the properties are divided
Destination of the owner creates a servitude when a visible arrangement becomes binding upon property division.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 741 provides for servitudes arising from destination of the owner. The arrangement must be apparent and permanent. It becomes a servitude by operation of law upon division of the property.
