Investor Guide to Europe 2014
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TYPES of oWnERSHIP
Î
freehold
ownership
•
Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania defines ownership
right as the right to: possess, use and dispose of an object of
ownership right at one’s will, without violating the laws and the
rights and interests of other persons;
•
Ownership right must be registered on the Real Estate Register.
Co-ownership
•
According to the Civil Code co-ownership right is the right
of two or several owners to possess, use, and dispose of the
object of the right of ownership held by them as common;
•
The object subject to common partial ownership is possessed,
used and disposed of by a common agreement of co-owners;
•
Co-owners enjoy the right to buy the share in sale of the com-
monly owned property at a price at which it is sold, and under
the same conditions;
•
Expenses related to property maintenance and preservation,
taxes, dues and other payments are paid by each of the co-
owners in proportion to their respective shares.
Î
Leasehold
Lease of buildings, construction works and
installations
•
A contract of lease of buildings, construction works and instal-
lations shall have to be formed in written form;
•
It may be invoked against third persons only if it is registered in
the Real Estate Register;
•
Lease may be fixed-term or concluded for an indefinite period,
but in all cases the period of lease may not exceed one hun-
dred years;
•
The payment of lease shall be determined upon the agreement
between the parties.
Lease of land
•
The subject matter is a plot of land (or a part thereof) in the
state or private ownership formed in accordance with the
project of land-use planning or any other detailed document of
territorial planning, and registered with the Real Estate Register
within the procedure established by laws;
•
A land lease contract shall have to be formed in written form;
•
It may be invoked by the parties against third persons only if it
is registered with the Real Estate Register;
•
The duration of lease of land in private ownership shall be esta-
blished upon the agreement between the lessor and the lessee;
•
The duration of lease of public land shall be established upon
the agreement between the lessor and the lessee; never-
theless, the term may not exceed ninety-nine years;
•
A shorter maximum duration of a land lease contract may be
stipulated by laws.
Long-term lease
(emphyteusis)
•
Is a right to use the plot of land or other immovable of ano-
ther provided the
emphyteutic
lessee does not aggravate its
quality, does not undertake to build construction works, to
plant perennial plants and perform other works thereon that
durably increase its value both of the land used or any other
immovable thing except upon the permission of the owner of
the land;
•
May be established for a fixed or an indefinite period; the term
of
emphyteusis
may not be less than ten years;
•
Is established by agreement between the owner of an immo-
vable thing and the
emphyteutic
lessee or by will;
•
Remains due despite the fact that the owner or the
emphyteu-
tic
lessee changes;
•
The
emphyteutic
lessee is bound to preserve and repair the
immovable at his own expense.
RIGHTS affECTInG oWnERSHIP
Î
Easement (servitude)
•
Is a right in respect of an immovable thing of another that
is granted for the use of that thing (the servient thing) or a
restriction of the right of the owner of that thing in order to
ensure a proper utilisation of the thing in favour of which the
servitude is established (the dominant thing);
•
Remains due despite the fact that subject of the right of
ownership of the servient or dominant thing changed;
•
May be established by laws, transactions and by a court judge-
ment while in cases stipulated by laws – by an administrative
act;
•
Rights granted by servitude shall be exercised in accordance to
their intended destination in order to cause the least inconve-
nience to the owner of the servient thing.
Î
usufruct
•
Is the right (the right of the usufructuary) of use and enjoy-
ment, granted for a period of a person’s life or for a certain
period that may not be longer than a lifetime of a person, of a
thing of another and of its fruits, products and revenues;
•
May be established by laws, court judgements - in the cases
prescribed by laws, and by transactions;
•
Remains due despite the fact that the owner of the thing in
respect of which the usufruct was established changed.
Î
Mortgage
•
Mortgage should be understood as the pledge of an immo-
vable thing to secure the performance of a present or future
debt obligation, when the mortgaged thing is not transferred
to the creditor;
•
The object of a mortgage may be individual immovable things
(real property), registered with the Real Estate Register and not
withdrawn from the civil turnover that may be submitted for a
public forced auction;
•
With the transfer of the mortgaged thing for the ownership of
another person, the mortgage follows the thing.
PRoPERTY LaW
