Slovo of the National School of Judges of Ukraine. №4(53) 2025. P. 122-131

ISSN: 2707-6849   

UDC342.9

DOI https://doi.org/10.37566/2707-6849-2025-4(53)-11

PDF

Nelli GOLUBEVA,

Head of the Department of Civil, Notarial

and Enforcement Process,

Professor of the Department of Civil Law of the National University "Odesa Law Academy",

Doctor of Law, Professor,

Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, Attorney

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3071-4990

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Problems of implementing the principle of the unity of a land plot and objects located on it 

Abstract 

The article examines the peculiarities of Ukrainian legal regulation of the principle of the unity of a land plot and the buildings located on it, as well as the problems of its practical implementation, which arise from the absence of the principle of a single object (a land plot and the buildings on it), the specific interpretation of the superficies solo cedit principle in Ukrainian law, and the separate circulation of these objects in civil turnover, illustrated through the example of a particular court case.

It is stated that if one relies on the Ukrainian interpretation of the unity principle, according to which the title to a building “pulls” the title to the land plot, a person may raise before the court the issue of acquiring ownership of a part of the land plot, even in the absence of an explicit provision in Article 140 of the Land Code. A political and economic justification is proposed for the lack of necessity to compensate the previous owner for the value of a share in a situation where a person has proven the right to half of a house under Articles 62 and 74 of the Family Code, while the owner of the land plot acquired it through inheritance, i.e., free of charge. This makes the situation similar to the legal solution applied in protecting the rights of an owner under a vindicatory claim against a good-faith possessor when the property was obtained without compensation (Part 4 of Article 388 of the Civil Code).

In view of the well-known “least harm” theory (a decision made in favor of one party should cause the least damage to the other), the article concludes that when property has been acquired free of charge, its return to the owner does not entail financial losses for the acquirer; therefore, despite the acquirer’s good faith, the property must always be returned to the owner. Applying this approach by analogy, and considering the basis for the heir’s acquisition of rights to the land plot (inheritance), one may speak of the possibility of recognizing ownership of the part of the land plot on which the house is located, relying directly on Part 1 of Article 377 of the Civil Code and Article 62 of the Family Code, and without compensation to the previous owner.

Keywords: ownership, sale and purchase, inheritance, marital joint property, real estate, land plot, justice, adjudication of specific categories of cases, superficies solo cedit, principle of the unity of a land plot and the immovable property located on it.

References

1. Ruling of the Supreme Court rendered by the Joint Chamber of the Civil Cassation Court of 20 May 2025 in case No. 346/2938/22 (proceeding No. 61-11657svo24). URL: https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/127575521 (accessed: 03.03.2026) (in Ukr.).

2. Maidanyk R. A. Real Property Law: textbook. Kyiv: Alerta, 2019. 1102 p. ISBN 978-617-566-526-8 (in Ukr.).

3. Holubieva N. Yu. Vindicatory Claim: Conditions for Filing, Satisfaction, and Refusal of Satisfaction. Bulletin of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. 2017. No. 5 (201). Pp. 42–48. URL: https://www.viaduk.net/clients/vsu/vsu.nsf/7864c99c46598282c2257b4c0037c014/53136939e0ca2533c225815a00479f8a/$FILE/Visnyk_05_2017.pdf (accessed: 03.03.2026) (in Ukr.).

4. Consideration of certain categories of cases in civil proceedings: manual / N. Yu. Golubeva, I. V. Andronov, N. V. Volkova and others; edited by N.Yu. Golubeva. Odesa: Phoenix, 2024. 592 p. ISBN 978-617-8430-13-9 (in Ukr.).

SuggestedCitation:   Golubeva, N.  (2025).  Problems of implementing the principle of the unity of a land plot and objects located on it. Slovo of the National School of Judges of Ukraine, 4 (53), 122–131. https://doi.org/10.37566/2707-6849-2025-4(53)-11

Date of first submission of the article to the publication: 28.01.2026

Date of acceptance of the article for publication after review: 17.03.2026

Date of publication (publication): 09.04.2026