The property of foreigners: challenges
- How much data is collected by your national land registry about a foreigner when making a real estate transaction?
In the process of registration of real estate transactions with the Dutch Land Register no difference is made between foreign or Dutch parties with regard to the data that is required.
In a notarial deed the following data are required from foreign and Dutch private persons (article 18 section 1 sub 1 Dutch Land Registry Act (in Dutch: Kadasterwet)): surname, first names, birth date, birth place, domicile and address and marital status.
If a foreign or a Dutch legal entity is a party to a notarial deed, the following data of that legal entity are required (article 18 section 1 sub 2 Dutch Land Registry Act): legal form, name, domicile and address.
If parties (private persons or legal entities) in a notarial deed do not have domicile in the Netherlands, they have to choose domicile in the Netherlands (Article 18 section 4 Dutch Land Registry Act). This is important for accessibility (e.g. for the purpose of notifications by bailiffs). If a party has chosen domicile in a document submitted for registration, the legal domicile and address will nevertheless also be stated (Article 18 section 5 Dutch Land Registry Act).
If a legal entity (foreign or Dutch) is registered in the Business Register, kept by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, in most cases the business register number is included in the notarial deed. However, this is not (yet) a registration requirement for Land Registry issues. If the deed does include this number, the registration of this party in the Dutch Land Register is easily linked to the Business Register. Kadaster would prefer all foreign buyers, both natural persons and legal entities, to be registered in the Business Register.
2. Do you use a uniform person identification number?
In the Netherlands, private persons have a unique citizen service number (BSN) for the purpose of contact with the government and communication between different governmental bodies.
However, in the process of registration of a document with the public registers of the Dutch Land Register, it is not accepted that this document itself contains (and therefore discloses) this unique citizen service number. This is prohibited because of privacy reasons (e.g. to prevent misuse and fraud). Therefore, the registrar of the Dutch Land Register will refuse the registration of any document that includes this unique citizen service number.
In the key register kadaster (in Dutch: basisregistratie kadaster) we do link with the Dutch key register of persons (in Dutch: basisregistratie personen). This link is based on the data concerning the private person as provided in the document that is registered. Any update in the key register of persons will then automatically be referred to in the key register kadaster.
With regard to legal entities, please see question 1 above with regard to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce number.
2.1 If Yes, do you use persons assigned number or make your own national number?
We make use of the official numbers, assigned by and mentioned in the Business register and the key register of persons.
3. Do all State information systems use the one/same person identification number?
In the system of key registers in the Netherlands, the Dutch governmental bodies make use of the unique identifiers (e.g. the unique citizen service number) as described above in question 2. In the Netherlands we have a system of key registers (including the key register kadaster and the key register of persons, as mentioned above). Governmental parties are obliged to use the data as included in these key registers. Therefore, most government bodies use the unique citizen service number in their communication between the various governmental organisations.
