Why register?

1.  Is it compulsory to register all transactions relating to land/property in your system?

No, the registration is not compulsory.

2. If not, are there any circumstances under which is it compulsory to do so?

No, because the transfer of property rights is performed pursuant to the manifest consent of the parties, in the ways and forms provided for by law.

3. If not, and registration is voluntary, what are the benefits of registration?

The buyer has an interest in registering the deed, because deeds transferring title to property may produce effects on third parties only if they are transcribed.

4. What percentage of land/titles is/are registered in your system?

Considering that registration is not compulsory, there can be non-registered legal titles, but it is not possible to estimate their percentage.

5. What types of legal rights in property are capable of being protected by registration?

According to art. 2643 of the Civil Code the main deeds that can be registered, in addition to the ones transferring property rights, are:

• deeds creating, modifying or transferring usufruct, superficie, enphiteusis rights;
• deeds creating, modifying or transferring building rights;
• deeds creating or modifying easements, use or habitation rights;
• in the enforcement, acts transferring property rights or other legal rights on property;
• rents lasting more than 9 years;
• mediation agreements stating usucapion with subscription of the minutes certified by an authorized public officer;
• transactions concerning disputes about the above mentioned rights;
• judicial decisions establishing the creation, transfer or modification of one of the above mentioned rights.

The other articles of the Civil Code providing the registration of legal rights are the following:

• art. 2645-bis: preliminary contracts concerning the future drawing of some of the above listed deeds;
• 2645-ter: public deeds stating the destination, for a period not longer than 90 years or life lasting, to satisfy worthy interests of handicapped persons, public administrations, or other entities or physical persons.
• 2645-quater: all the deeds creating public restrictions for the benefit of State, local bodies, or other public services managing institutions.
• 2646: division deeds and judicial decisions concerning the division of properties in the proceedings for the assignment through auction.
• 2647: deeds ruling the marital agreements and their modifications.
• 2648: deeds concerning the acceptance of inheritance or legacy.
• 2649: transfers of properties by the debtor to his creditors.

6. Are there other rights, legal situations, judicial decisions affecting property rights or owner’s powers capable of registration?

According to art. 2645 of the Civil Code, it is necessary to register any other act or decision producing some of the effects of the above mentioned deeds.

Moreover, it is necessary to register the claims listed in the art. 2652 and 2653 of the Civil Code, including, for example:

• claims to terminate contracts and to revoke donations;
• claims asking for the execution of a preliminary contract;
• claims asking for the judicial verification of the signature in private documents including an agreement subject to registration;
• claims aimed to verifying simulation in documents subject to registration;
• claims asking the revocation of deeds subject to registration that were detrimental for creditors;
• claims aimed to declare the invalidity of deeds subject to registration and claims contesting the validity of registration itself;
• claims contesting the foundation of an inheritance or a legacy;
• claims to reduce donations and last wills in violation of the rules concerning legitime;
• claims for property rights or other legal rights on property;
• claims to terminate communion between spouses;
• deeds and claims interrupting the usucapio period.

Moreover, there two kind of judicial decisions that must be registered to create the related rights: the foreclosure (art. 555 Civil Procedure Code) and the conservative seizure (art. 679 Civil Procedure Code).

Finally, there are the decisions declaring the prescription or the usucapion of some of the rights listed in art. 2643.

7. What are the effects of registration of a transfer of ownership?

The transcription of a deed in the Register fulfils a declaratory function in respect of the exceptionability principle, aimed at making public (knowable) the transfer of rights (see answer to question 8 of the section Responsible Agency).

8. What are the effects of registration of a mortgage/charge? What powers or rights are available to the registered owners of charge in order to enforce their security?

The inscription of a mortgage constitutes the right, to the point that the mortgage doesn’t exist unless the relative title is registered in the land register. Similarly, the transcription of other charges such as foreclosures has constitutive effects, too. The registered owner of a charge has the right to go to the court to obtain the forced sale of the property and get satisfaction on the sale price.

9. Is the title guaranteed by the State/Registrar? If so, to what extent and under what circumstances?

No, it isn’t.

10. What remedies are available to land registry information users who may have relied on register information and suffered loss as a result of reliance on that information?

Users can appeal to a judge in application of the general rules concerning the compensation of damage.

11. How does a party who has suffered loss make a claim for compensation if applicable?

There is not a special proceeding, it is an ordinary judgement in application of general rules.

12. What are the risks involved where property transactions are not registered?

The main risk for a buyer who doesn’t register his purchase is that the property right can be acquired by another buyer that registers his purchase first, irrespective of the date of the deed. In fact, the registration has a discriminatory function between conflicting interests by giving prevalence to the title that was transcribed first.

13. Are there any penalties for non-registration?

For the parties, while there is not a legal obligation to register, there is a fiscal obligation to promptly pay due taxes when making a registration. Thus, when a registration is made after 30 days from the date of the deed, it is necessary to pay a penalty.

For the notary, there is an obligation to apply for registration of deeds drafted by him as soon as possible; in case of delay, he must pay compensation.

14. Is cadastral/mapping information included in the title registration process? If so, is it guaranteed? If yes, by whom?

The identification of the property in the deed must be made using cadastral data, while mapping information is not necessarily included. It is not guaranteed.