Property
Unified cadastre registration with constitutional protection of ownership
The Civil Code governs ownership and the Law on State Registration of Rights to Property establishes a unified cadastre. Registration in the cadastre is what creates and proves title to immovable property.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National. The Cadastre Committee maintains the register.
Governing law
- Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia (1998) — ownership, servitudes, mortgage
- Law on State Registration of Rights to Property (1999) — the cadastre
- Law on Alienation of Property for Public Interest (2006) — expropriation and compensation
In practice
Armenia completed comprehensive land privatisation in the 1990s and the cadastre is generally reliable, with electronic search available. Registration is constitutive: an unregistered transfer does not pass title. Foreign nationals may own buildings and lease land but cannot own agricultural land outright, a restriction that shapes foreign investment structuring. Mortgages must be registered to be effective against third parties. Expropriation for a public interest requires prior full compensation at market value, and the adequacy of compensation is justiciable.