Best Property Lawyer In Bundall

Property Law Overview

Property law governs the legal relationships between people and property. It defines the rights of ownership, possession, and use over both movable and immovable things.

• Movable property (Fahrnis): Items that can be physically moved, such as cars, furniture, or electronics.

• Immovable property: Land and objects permanently attached to it, as well as rights connected to land (e.g., easements, mortgages, or hereditary building rights).

Even though certain rights (like easements or mortgages) cannot be seen or touched, they are still considered property rights — capable of ownership, transfer, and protection under law.

Core Principles of Property Law

1. Principle of Publicity (Publizitätsprinzip)
   Property rights must be publicly recognizable to protect third parties.

   • Example: Ownership of land is recorded in the land register; ownership of movable items is visible through possession.

2. Principle of Absoluteness (Absolutheitsprinzip)
   Property rights apply erga omnes — they are enforceable against everyone, not just between the contracting parties.

3. Principle of Specialty (Spezialitätsprinzip)
   Each property right must relate to a specific, clearly identifiable object.

   • Example: You can’t own “a car” in general — you own this particular car, with its unique registration number.

4. Type Constraint (Typenzwang)
   The law provides a limited number of property rights types (ownership, usufruct, pledge, etc.). Parties cannot create new property right types through private agreement.

5. Principle of Abstractness (Abstraktionsprinzip)
   The legal transaction that transfers ownership is independent of the underlying obligation (like a sales contract).

   • Example: Even if a sales contract is invalid, the transfer of ownership might still be valid under certain conditions.