Why register?

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

According to the Civil Law any alienation of immovable property and any change in general in the owners thereof, must be registered in the Land Register.

There is, however, no time frame in which this has to be done.

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

No.

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

The benefit of registration is protection of right to real property regarding third parties.

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

Almost 90% of real property is registered in Land Registry.

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

Including, but not limited to are protected rights of ownership to immovable properties, understanding rights also as the security and restrictions of rights if the contrary does not arise from the content and direct meaning of the law.

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

N/A

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

According to the Civil Law, only persons registered in the Land Register as an owner can be recognised to be the owners of the given property.

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?

Registration of mortgage allows to use pre-emptive right to prohibit property sale in case of failure to return the debt.

Similarly, rights to claim undisputed fulfilment or voluntary auction sale of the property through the courts be exercised.

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

Yes; with an entry in Land Registry starts protection of rights regarding the given immovable property.

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?

Since the registration process almost always takes place through notary for added certainty, it is very difficult to have false information entered in Land Registry. Additionally, since the records have public credibility, it is everyone’s right to believe and rely on register information and those who doubt it have to prove it to be wrong.

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

There is no compensation mechanism in place.

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

An owner can, for example then, sell the property to an another person who then registers this transaction and reversing this can be near impossible to do.

13. Are there any penalties for non-registration?

There are no penalties for non-registration.

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

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