Servitude in Civil Law of Nepal

What is a Servitude or a Preemption?

Servitude or Pre-emption may be defined as a right of one person over another attached land and house. It is a neighbor’s right. The 2017 National Civil Code governs the Servitudes in Nepal.

Section 454 of the Civil Code states that “If a person transfers to another person, in any way, any immovable property in which that person has the right, property and possession, and any person who is in the neighbor of such property redeems such property in accordance with this Chapter, pre-emption shall be deemed to have been made.”

The legal term “servitude” means that some property actually “serves” either another property or another person. It is a situation in which a pit, a water supply, a passage, an exit, etc. will be closed because one does not have another’s house or land bordering one’s house or land and has been transferred.

In the civil code, only immovable property, such as land house, is subject to servitude. Servitudes may place a number of types of obligations or restrictions on the adjoining property, such as the use of the adjoining water well road, or outline restrictions on private construction structures.

Procedure of claim of servitude or pre-emption:

• Application to the Land Administration Office.
• If a person sells his or her immovable property to someone else. At that time, the neighbor of such property may claim right of servitude or pre-emption over it.
• Neighbours may preempt such property on the purchaser’s payment of the property as well as the fees incurred in the course of the deed approved by the Land Administration Office of Nepal.

Most immediate neighbor may file a case

In servitude or pre-emption right over property most immediate neighbor shall have the right to neighbor property.

If there is more than one heir who intends to make a preemption claim at that time, the immediate heir, and if those heirs are also more than one, the heir who is the most immediate neighbor, and if even those heirs are more than one, all heirs may preempt such property in equal proportion.

Notice Issue

The Land Administration Office shall serve a seven-day summons to reply to the application of the Servitude or Pre-emption right on neighbor’s property.

Within a period of seven days, with the exception of the time required for the journey, the opponent must reply within that period.

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