Servitude definition: servient and dominant land (rights attached to your plot)

A servitude is a real right attached to a plot of land that allows another plot to benefit from it or restricts its use. In Switzerland, it may concern, for example, a right of way, a pipe or utility line, a building restriction or access that is essential to a property.

Servitude definition: servient land and dominant land

To understand what a servitude is, you need to distinguish between the servient land and the dominant land. The servient land is the plot that bears the restriction; the dominant land is the one that benefits from it. This legal distinction is essential, even if people often simply refer to the burdened plot and the benefiting plot.

The key point is that the servitude is not linked only to the current owners. In principle, it follows the plots of land: if you buy land burdened by a servitude, you also take over that restriction. This is why the extract from the land register and the plans must be read before signing, not afterwards.

Right of way: the most sensitive case when buying

The right of way is the best-known example: it allows a person to cross a neighbouring plot to access their own property. But a right of way is never a minor detail. You need to check its route, width, authorised use, maintenance and whether it applies only to pedestrians, private vehicles, deliveries or emergency services.

A misunderstood right of way can change a property’s value. If you buy the plot used as the passageway, you could face noise, loss of privacy or the inability to freely develop part of the land. If you buy the benefiting plot, the servitude may instead secure access and make the financing more robust.

Right of way in a property purchase with a mortgage loan

Servitudes and mortgage lending: what the bank may review

As part of a mortgage loan, servitudes can influence the analysis of the financed property. A favourable servitude, such as guaranteed access, can strengthen the economic usefulness of a plot. An unfavourable servitude, for example a building ban, a utility line crossing the land or a highly restrictive passageway, can reduce the collateral value retained by the bank.

Before financing a purchase, you should therefore identify the registered servitudes, understand their exact content and check whether they limit a future extension, conversion, subdivision of the plot or resale. The risk is not only legal: it can become financial if the servitude reduces the property’s value or makes it harder to sell on the market.

Swiss context check: servitudes are governed by the Swiss Civil Code in the section on rights in rem; the Swiss land register also provides the basis for entries allowing land to be mortgaged.