Property
Conservador de Bienes Raíces registration completes the transfer
Transfer of real property requires a notarial deed followed by inscription in the Conservador de Bienes Raíces for the commune where the property lies. Inscription is the tradición that actually transfers ownership under the Código Civil, so an unregistered buyer holds only a contractual claim. Title is traced through the registry's chain of inscriptions.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National civil law with communal registries
- Deadline — Ordinary acquisitive prescription: five years; extraordinary: 10 years
- Deadline — No fixed deadline to register, but priority runs from inscription
Governing law
- Código Civil de Chile (arts. 686 and following)
- Reglamento del Registro Conservatorio de Bienes Raíces
In practice
Andrés Bello's Código Civil of 1855 is the foundation of Chilean private law and was influential across Latin America, with Colombia and Ecuador adopting versions of it. Because inscription performs the tradición, Chilean practice places heavy weight on the registry study going back at least ten years to confirm an unbroken chain and the absence of prohibitions or mortgages.