5.2 Property Classifications
Key Takeaways
- All property in Louisiana is either immovable or movable; movable is the default (everything that is not immovable).
- Immovables include land, its component parts, and incorporeal rights in immovables such as usufruct, servitudes, and mineral rights.
- Standing timber and unharvested crops are immovable until severed; once cut or harvested they become movable.
- A transfer of immovable property must be made by authentic act or by act under private signature (CC art. 1839).
- An instrument affecting an immovable has effect against third persons only when filed for registry in the parish where the property is located.
The Two Master Categories
Louisiana does not say "real" and "personal" property. Every thing is either immovable or movable, and movable is the catch-all — anything not classified as immovable is movable (CC art. 475). Within each category, the Code further splits things into corporeal (having a body you can touch) and incorporeal (a right, with no physical body).
Immovables
| Sub-type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Corporeal immovables | Tracts of land, lots, buildings, other constructions permanently attached to the ground |
| Standing timber | Trees while still rooted (immovable until cut) |
| Unharvested crops | Crops while still attached to the soil |
| Component parts | Things attached so as to be part of the immovable |
| Incorporeal immovables | Rights in immovables: usufruct, predial and personal servitudes, mineral rights, the right of a lessee under a recorded long lease |
Movables
| Sub-type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Corporeal movables | Vehicles, furniture, livestock, equipment, harvested crops, cut timber |
| Incorporeal movables | Stocks, bonds, bank accounts, promissory notes, patents, copyrights, and most other rights |
The severance rule is a favorite trap: a pecan tree rooted in the ground is immovable; the moment it is cut it becomes a corporeal movable. The same logic applies to soybeans before and after harvest.
Component Parts (CC arts. 465–466)
Things permanently attached to an immovable are treated as immovable. Two tests appear in the Code:
- Things incorporated into a tract (buildings, their integral parts) are component parts.
- Things attached to a building that cannot be removed without substantial damage to themselves or the building (e.g., plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, plumbing fixtures) are component parts.
Typical component parts
- Central HVAC systems and ductwork
- Built-in cabinetry and appliances
- Plumbing and electrical wiring/fixtures
- Fences, walls, in-ground pools
A window-unit air conditioner that simply sits in a sash is movable; the central system ducted through the walls is an immovable component part. Whether an item conveys with the house in a sale often turns on this distinction.
Form Required to Transfer
| Property type | Required form |
|---|---|
| Immovable | Authentic act, OR act under private signature (CC art. 1839) |
| Movable (general) | No special form; ownership transfers by consent |
| Titled movable (vehicle, vessel) | Statutory title-transfer paperwork |
Civil Code Article 1839
"A transfer of immovable property must be made by authentic act or by act under private signature. Nevertheless, an oral transfer is valid between the parties when the property has been actually delivered and the transferor recognizes the transfer when interrogated under oath."
In practice the authentic act dominates immovable transfers because it is self-proving in court, satisfies lenders and title insurers, and produces a clean chain of title. An authentic act is signed before a notary and two witnesses, with the notary also signing.
Recording: Effect Against Third Persons
| Requirement | Purpose |
|---|---|
| File for registry | Makes the right effective against third persons |
| Correct parish | Record where the immovable is located |
| Timing/rank | Rights rank from the moment of filing, not signing |
Under the public records doctrine, an unrecorded act binds the parties but is treated as if it does not exist as to third persons. So a buyer who fails to record can be defeated by a later buyer who records first. The exam phrasing: an instrument "shall have effect against third persons only from the time it is filed for registry in the parish where the property is located."
Corporeal vs. Incorporeal — Why Notaries Care
The corporeal/incorporeal split changes the paperwork. A corporeal immovable (a house and lot) is conveyed by a recorded act of sale. An incorporeal immovable — a usufruct, a servitude, or a mineral right — is also transferred by a written, recorded act because it is treated as immovable, even though there is nothing physical to hand over. By contrast, an incorporeal movable like a bank account or a share of stock is assigned according to the rules for that specific right, not by an act of sale of land.
| Right | Category | How transferred |
|---|---|---|
| Usufruct over a house | Incorporeal immovable | Written, recorded act |
| Predial servitude (right of passage) | Incorporeal immovable | Written, recorded act |
| Mineral servitude | Incorporeal immovable | Written, recorded act |
| Promissory note | Incorporeal movable | Endorsement/assignment |
| Shares of stock | Incorporeal movable | Transfer per corporate/securities rules |
The Authentic Act vs. Act Under Private Signature
Article 1839 offers two valid forms for immovable transfers, and the difference is heavily tested:
| Feature | Authentic act | Act under private signature |
|---|---|---|
| Who must sign | Parties, two witnesses, and the notary | The parties only |
| Proof in court | Self-proving (full faith) | Must be acknowledged or proven |
| Recordable | Yes | Yes, but usually must be duly acknowledged before recording |
| Preferred by lenders/title insurers | Yes | Often required to be acknowledged |
Because the authentic act carries its own proof, title companies and mortgage lenders insist on it for home sales. An act under private signature duly acknowledged — where a signer later swears before a notary that the signature is genuine — gains similar recordable status.
Worked Scenario
A seller hands a buyer a signed but unwitnessed deed and the buyer never records it. Between them the sale may bind, but a later buyer who takes an authentic act and records first wins under the public records doctrine. The first buyer's unrecorded act is a nullity as to that third person. The lesson the exam wants: sign in proper form and record promptly in the correct parish.
On the Exam
- Movable = everything not immovable.
- Standing timber/growing crops are immovable until severed.
- Immovable transfer form: authentic act or act under private signature (art. 1839).
- Authentic act = parties + two witnesses + notary, and is self-proving.
- Recording in the correct parish gives effect against third persons; rank dates from filing.
Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 1839, a transfer of immovable property must be made by:
A pecan tree rooted in a landowner's field is cut down and stacked as logs. How does its classification change?