Servitude in Civil Law - Personal Servitude

Personal Servitude

A personal servitude is an interest that benefits its holder personally or financially with or without the use or enjoyment of property. In this case, there is no dominant estate, only a personal beneficiary, and therefore the servitude is in principle not assignable or inheritable, unless transferability is part of the original grant or results from economic purposes that the servitude is designed to serve. Instead, the servitude moves with a particular person, not with a specific property, and includes:

• easements in gross;
• life interests: rights of use (usus), residence (habitatio), and usufruct;
• limited interests: rights of pre-emption, emption, and redemption.

Napoleonic civil-law countries do not generally recognize personal servitudes. The mixed jurisdictions of Quebec and Louisiana are exceptions due to influence from common law, but under these systems personal servitudes are limited to easements in gross.