Legal Consequences of Classifying Land Plots and Attached Buildings and Structures as Independent Civil-Law Objects: A Comparative Analysis and Reform Perspective

Abstract

This article analyzes the legal consequences of classifying a land plot and the buildings and structures erected on it as independent civil-law objects under Article 134 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia. It demonstrates that the separation of ownership rights to land and to the attached structure generates conflicts over use and disposition, restricts the effective exercise of property rights, and creates legal uncertainty, particularly with respect to buildings constructed on municipally owned land. The study offers a historical and comparative perspective grounded in the Roman-law principle superficies solo cedit and examines legal systems in which buildings generally follow the legal fate of the land. The paper also evaluates Armenian legal mechanisms aimed at preserving land–building unity and highlights their practical limitations. As a reform vision, it proposes re-centering the concept of immovable property on the land plot, while treating buildings and structures as constituent parts of the land, subject to narrowly defined exceptions for condominium ownership and building rights.