Satisfying Modern Needs Associated with Use of Residential Real Estate Through Classical Concepts of Property Law (Real Burden and Servitude): Latvian Example

The article is dedicated to the issue of legal solutions that real estate developers in Latvia can and in practice often do use to satisfy modern needs related to the use of residential real estate, i.e. 1) management of common areas of a given residential area (access roads, streets, parking lots, parks, playgrounds, common utility networks, etc.) carried out by the developer, and proportional participation in the coverage of management expenses by all real estate owners owning properties in the area; 2) the preservation of the unified architectural and aesthetic environment of the specific residential area, created by the developer, and the prevention of activities that could “damage” this environment, which could be carried out by property owners; 3) the need for developers of apartment buildings to accommodate, to the maximum extent possible, the individual wishes of potential purchasers of apartment properties to acquire together with the particular apartment property also the right to exclusive use of a particular part (element) of the “jointly owned part” of all apartment owners. The author concludes that the most suitable and effective long-term solutions are the classical concepts of the property law – real burden and servitude, if they are skilfully adapted to meet the aforementioned modern needs.