Movable and Immovable Property: Definitions and Differences
Property is divided into movable and immovable. Immovable property generally includes land and other objects that are attached to land and cannot be moved from one place to another without changing their purpose and significantly reducing their value (e.g., buildings, installations, plantations, and other inherently immovable objects).
Land is the primary form of immovable property. In the Republic of Lithuania, immovable property must be registered in the public register. Only legally formed and identified land plots may be registered.
Key legal characteristics of immovable property in Lithuania:
- ownership and other property rights must be registered;
- obligations related to immovable property are fulfilled at its location;
- the law of the country where the immovable property is located applies to rights in it (i.e., Lithuanian law);
- the acquisition period by adverse possession is ten years;
- transactions involving ownership or other rights to immovable property must be notarized.
For things to be considered immovable by their nature, they must be connected to the land in such a way that they cannot be moved from one place to another without changing their purpose and diminishing their value. Many things that are immovable by nature can be relocated by altering their intended use, but such items, which were immovable before the change of purpose, cannot be regarded as movable, because a change in purpose means a change in the very nature of the item.
Some movable property defined by law (such as ships and aircraft) is equated with immovable property due to a legal characteristic typical of real estate – mandatory registration. Laws may also recognize other assets as immovable property. The division of an immovable property object is a method of forming immovable property, whereby, at the request of the co-owners, parts of an object registered in the Real Property Register as jointly owned are separated and formed as distinct immovable property objects.
The division of land plots is a method of forming and reorganizing land plots, whereby, at the request of one or more co-owners, parts of a jointly owned land plot belonging to these co-owners are separated and formed into individual land plots. Land plots are divided by concluding a notarized agreement, except in cases where the land plot(s) being reorganized belong to a single person. When dividing a part of a land plot in kind, or when amalgamating land plots, the plans of the newly formed land plots, prepared in accordance with the procedure established by the institution authorized by the Government, must be attached to the agreement.
When dividing land plots, the owners of the land plots being reorganized must notify third parties who hold rights to the affected land plots registered in the Real Property Register. Land plots that are seized or that are the subject of a legal dispute may not be divided.